The Hunted
by lasatgirl60
Summary: Zeb, Kallus and Rex travel to Nar Shaddaa the "Smuggler's Moon" to get information about a new Imperial weapon. They contact two new Fulcrum agents in a cantina where they are confronted by four alien hunters who want a Lasat for a trophy. Zeb will be captured and set loose on a planet where he'll have to rely on his wits, courage and cunning to survive. Rated T for violence.
1. Chapter 1

Here is a new story I hope that readers will like. It is my first attempt at an action story and it will be about Zeb (my favorite "Rebels" character) and how he'll survive being hunted by four aliens on a jungle planet in wild space. Okay...here goes!

THE HUNTED

Chapter 1 Fulcrum Meeting

The three rebels readied the Clone Wars era shuttle for a journey to the "Smugglers Moon" as Nar Shaddaa was known for being. They would be meeting two of the newest Fulcrum agents that former Imperial agent Alexandr Kallus had been in recent contact with.

"Hey Alex," Zeb Orrelios the Lasat member of the GHOST crew said, "Do we really have to go to Nar Shaddaa? That place is..."

"Nastier than the hind end of a Hutt," former clone trooper Captain Rex finished for his friend.

"I know you guys don't like this, but these two have important info about the Empire's newest weapon," Kallus answered.

"What kind of weapon?" Zeb asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Kallus added.

"That helps us alot," Rex offered giving Zeb a playful punch to the shoulder. The Lasat grinned at him.

"Are you three ready to go?" came a voice near the Sheathipede shuttle that the rebels had dubbed the PHANTOM II. The original PHANTOM had been lost during an ill-fated mission a year ago.

"We sure are, Hera," Zeb answered seeing the Twi'lek pilot walking towards them.

"Okay, then. Be careful. This could be a bit dangerous. Just get the info from the contacts and get back here. Nar Shaddaa has gotten alot of attention from the Empire lately."

"Yes...Mom," both Rex and Zeb added seeing Hera smiling at them. Kallus just nodded his head in her direction.

Hera gave them each a quick hug and saw them off. She knew they could take care of themselves, but she still worried.

"Hey, who said you could fly this thing?" Zeb asked as he watched Rex sit at the pilot's seat.

"Since I'm a veteran of the Clone Wars, I've flown a few of these things and I'm the best qualified to fly her. Anyways...Hera put me in charge of the mission due to being the most familiar with Nar Shaddaa," Rex answered, "Oh, Zeb, don't be such a baby...I'll let you fly her home after we finish the mission."

"Sounds good to me," Kallus added, "I haven't the slightest idea how to fly a Sheathipede shuttle."

He looked over to see Zeb grinning nearly ear to ear.

The PHANTOM II lifted off with the trio of rebels and made her way to Nar Shaddaa. A few hours later, they were in orbit of the moon that looked worse from above.

"Sheesh!" Zeb muttered, "Can't even see the land masses!"

"You think this looks bad," Rex added, "What until you see where we're landing."

The former trooper landed the shuttle in an area where smugglers and other assorted characters kept their ships when visiting the various cantinas.

"Okay...fellas," Kallus began to say as he consulted a datapad, "We are to meet the two Fulcrum agents at a cantina called the Black Diamond."

"Black Diamond?" Zeb asked wrinkling his pug-like nose at the stench of the swamp world, "Sounds...lovely."

"Quit being such a wiseass," Rex scolded his big friend. Zeb gave him a scathing look.

"Knock it off," Kallus said consulting his datapad, "We are to meet the two agents named Leka and Ele Pauen inside the cantina. Their undercover work here is barroom bouncer and serving girl."

The former Imperial lead his two companions into the rather seedy establishment. Kallus and Rex didn't get a lot of attention, but Zeb did.

"Guess they don't see many Lasat around here," Rex said seeing Zeb look a bit uncomfortable at the close scutiny he was getting from the other patrons of the cantina.

"Hey!" came a voice from the bar. It was a tall rather hefty human male with scruffy beard and hair, "Well...do you guys want a drink or not?"

"No, thank you," Kallus said, "We're looking for a couple by the name of Leka and Ele Pauen. Do you know them?"

The bartender frowned and glanced over to where a tall curvy woman with gray skin and tattoos sat.

"I'm Eleandra Pauen," she said in a husky but pleasant voice. She looked right at Kallus and said:

"By the light of Lothol's moons."

Zeb, Kallus and Rex started at hearing the Fulcrum response spoken. She stood up and walked over to greet them. Rex couldn't help noticing how attractive she was. Kallus looked just as surprised. They knew she was Dathomirian from her appearance.

"If you gentlemen will put your eyes back in your heads, I'll introduce you to my bondmate Lekaryta Pauen."

The former trooper figured that her bondmate was another Dathomirian, one of the Night Brothers, but were they surprised! The exotic woman gestured to someone in the back part of the cantina and out walked not a Night Brother, but a...

...Lasat male, very young and smaller than Zeb. He was dressed in a simple tunic and matching pants that only went to his knees. His fur color was similiar to Zeb's with a different stripe pattern and he sported a short beard and sideburns with a mohawk cut of hair on his head.

"By the light of Lothol's moons," he said in a voice a little higher pitched than Zeb's and younger sounding, "I'm Lekaryta Pauen, bondmate to Eleandra Paueu."

"Well, I'll be," Rex muttered seeing the shocked looks on the other's faces.

"Leka," Zeb began to say and walked over to shake the younger Lasat's hand, "Your last name Pauen sounds familiar."

The young Lasat looked away for a moment and then spoke.

"My grandfather...Byretta Pauen was a general in the Lasan High Honor Guard. My father Ozek...served during the Clone Wars and up until...Lasan was attacked."

"Leka," Zeb said seeing the sadness in the youngster's eyes, "Are both of your parents still alive?"

"No...Father died during the attack and..." he answered shutting his eyes and swallowing hard, "When he saw that we were in danger...he put Mother and I on a ship and sent us away. I was only half a dust season old..."

"A kit," Zeb whispered, "What about your mother?"

Blinking his teary eyes, Leka explained the rest of his tragic childhood.

"Our ship was...attacked by an Imperial ship and...Mother put me in a life pod with several other Lasat. I never saw her again. We were rescued by a Naboo mercenary ship and taken back to Naboo where I was raised by a Gungan family until I became of age to leave home. I became a mercenary and helped my adopted family on many missions until my ship was damaged and I had to land on Nar Shaddaa where I met Ele and her father Burley."

"That happened three years ago," Ele added, "Leka and I instantly became friends and then fell in love. We were joined just last year."

"Now I remember where I saw your father," Zeb added, "He was there when my father, Ketuunka was promoted to General of the Lasan High Honor Guard. Not long after, I received my own promotion to Captain and held that position until...the attack."

Leka and Ele both gave the older Lasat looks of sympathy and patted his arm.

"You two don't look much older than teenagers," Rex said hoping to brighten the mood, "What are you about sixteen...seventeen years of age?"

"We're twenty," Ele said looking over at Leka, "We are capable of fulfilling our duties as Fulcrum agents."

A few minutes later, Burley the human bartender and owner of the cantina, lead the two agents and the three rebels to a room in the back where they could talk without interruptions.

"Thank you, Papa," Ele said as she gave Burley a kiss on his wrinkled face. He had adopted Ele when she first arrived on Nar Shaddaa four years ago. She had run away from Dathomir not wanting to become a Night Sister as her family clan wanted. Now he found himself with a Lasat son-in-law but didn't care. He loved Leka as much as he did Ele.

The two Fulcrum agents took out a hologram device and set it on a table in front of them.

"This is what Leka and I discovered when we traveled to Naboo last month and contacted a rebel cell out of Gungan City," Ele said activating the device.

An image of a round metallic sphere appeared within the hologram. The three rebels felt their stomachs lurch at what looked like a planet-sized weapon. Rex and Kallus frowned and Zeb growled deep in his throat.

"The project is called 'Stardust' and is being overseen by an Imperial by the name of Orsen Krennic. Alot of funding has been taken away from other projects, namely Grand Admiral Thrawn's TIE Defender program."

"No wonder ol' Blue Skin is hacked off," Rex said seeing the surprised looks on Kallus' and Zeb's faces.

"Leka," Zeb said looking over at the much younger Lasat male, "Do you or Ele know where this...thing is being built?"

"Sorry, Captain Orrelios. All we know is that it's being constructed somewhere out in Wild Space."

"That really helps," Rex added getting a look from Kallus and a clearing throat.

"Thank you for the information," the former Imperial said, "Keep us informed if you hear anything else."

He shook both agents' hands and gestured Zeb and Rex to do the same.

"How about a drink?" Ele suggested, "Papa makes a mighty potent Hutt Swamp Fizz, guaranteed to make your hair or fur stand on end."

Rex, Zeb and Kallus nodded.

While the three rebels readied to indulge in the cantina's strongest drink, four tall alien beings wandered the streets, everyone giving them a wide berth. They were not only tall, but very muscular with reptilian skin of different shades of mottled brown. They didn't wear much of anything other than shoulder armor with some kind of weapon on one shoulder, arm gauntlets and leg guards. Around their waists they wore something similar to a loincloth but it covered more than a loincloth normally would. On their large heads they wore helmets of various shapes and long dreadlocks that passed as hair hung down their backs.

The tallest one of the four, easily three meters tall, touched a button on it's right hand gauntlet. An image appeared similar to a hologram.

The image was of a Lasat; a Lasat named Garazeb Orrelios of a rebel cell out of Yavin IV. It uttered something to it's smaller companions. It was a language of clicks, trills and growls, then it gestured towards the Black Diamond cantina. It nodded to them and they pushed buttons on their gauntlets where they disappeared before any onlooker's eyes...

Zeb, Kallus and Rex sat at the bar drinking assorted drinks that made them either cough or their eyes water.

"Karabast!" Zeb choked out as he coughed. He had taken a big gulp of a Hutt Swamp Fizz, "Oh...that's strong!"

Rex and Kallus chuckled and went back to drinking the Corellian ales they were working on. Seeing Zeb's reaction at one of the Black Diamond's signature drinks made them glad they didn't try it. Leka nearly laughed himself off a bar stool at Zeb's reaction to the vile drink.

"I can't stand them either," he said seeing that Ele was laughing just as hard. The Dathomirian female leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. The two young beings nuzzled each other's faces.

Zeb recognized young love when he saw it. He felt a pang of envy for a moment hoping someday to win a female's heart, Lasat or otherwise. A few of the female rebels had been giving him looks over the past few months, especially a Barrelian female that was taller than he was. Her species were humanoid beings with dark brown skin, human-like features and golden eyes that seemed to glow from within. They were covered with golden markings and very strong for slim statured beings. She had engaged in arm-wrestling contests with men of different species and even took Zeb on. She actually won! The Lasat was drawn back to reality by one of Rex's stories that he was telling to anyone who wanted to hear, when the cantina went silent.

It was because four strange-looking beings walked in.

"Karabast!" both Zeb and Leka uttered. Rex and Kallus just gasped and Ele flashed her teeth and hissed out a warning to everyone in the cantina.

"D'bisyk," she whispered in her native Dathomirian tongue. It meant "hunter" or "stalker".

"Guys, back up slowly," she said to her bondmate and the three rebels, "These...aliens are a bad bunch to tangle with."

"Look at that thing on their shoulders," Rex whispered, "Some kind of weapon?"

He watched as a red laser light appeared from the shoulder device and shown on a Twi'lek male's chest. The largest being let out a loud roar and the device let loose with a plasma blast that blew a hole in the unfortunate Twi'lek's chest. He never let out a scream as he died so quickly. Rex now knew it was a cannon of some kind...a nasty one at that! The other aliens began to shoot their weapons killing many of the cantina's patrons. Ele pulled Leka and Burley behind the bar where she pulled out a holdout blaster from her boot top. Leka had grabbed a Lasan bo-rifle from behind a box of bottled ale. The young couple opened fire grazing one of the smaller aliens in the shoulder. It let out a roar and shot back with it's shoulder cannon. The shot nearly hit the top of Leka's mohawk-haired head.

"Karabast, Leka!" Ele called to her bondmate, "What are you doing? Trying to get yourself killed?!"

Rex and Kallus overturned a table and shot at the aliens. The shots seemed to bounce off them.

"What the kriff?" Rex yelled, "They must have some kind of protective field!"

Kallus swore both in Huttese and Basic throwing a blaster to Zeb who was protecting two of the cantina's serving girls; a Twi'lek and a Duros. The two women were hanging onto him for dear life!

"Last time I leave my bo-rifle on the ship!" he grumbled and shot the largest alien in the leg seeing a wound open up, neon-green blood spurting from the injury. The alien let out a roar of pain and reached over to it's other wrist gauntlet pushing a button. Two wicked looking blades appeared, the tips shining in the cantina's lamp light. It moved with the swiftness of a Loth-cat and drove the obvious weapons into the chest of the nearest patron, a human male of advanced years. Bright red blood spurted all over the alien's arm and over the bar and floor. It spotted Zeb hunkered down behind a large table and uttered a trill. Zeb moved back farther feeling that the two serving girls were hanging on to his arms hindering his ability to shoot. He gestured them to get in back of him and they obeyed now both sobbing in fear.

"Captain Orrelios!" Leka called out throwing his bo-rifle to the older Lasat. Zeb nearly caught it when he was enveloped in some kind of energy net that paralyzed him.

"ZEB!" Rex and Kallus screamed out. They tried to rescue their friend but were stopped by the severed head of Burley the bartender hurtling towards them with the spinal cord still attached. Kallus felt like he was about to puke! Rex wasn't much better.

"Papa!" Ele called out beginning to cry.

"R..Rex!" Zeb called between clenched teeth, "G...Get...them...out of here! Get...Get to...the...ship!"

"Not without you!"

"G...Go! I...I'll b...be...okay."

Dodging fire from the alien weapons, the elderly clone trooper managed to get not only Kallus and himself out of the now burning cantina, but also the young Fulcrum agents. They got onboard the PHANTOM II, Leka cradling a sobbing Ele in his arms.

"What the kriff are those things?" Rex said trying not to throw up, "Where the karking hell are they from?!"

The only answer he got from Kallus was a shrugging of trembling shoulders. Ele was still crying and Leka still held her close. It could now be seen that the young Lasat had tears on his furry cheeks. Rex knew they were both no more than children and would be easily scared, even a young Lasat male. Kallus got himself calmed down to activate the tranceiver for a distress call.

"To anyone who can hear my voice, we are under attack...I repeat, we are under attack by alien forces of an unknown species. They have killed many civilians and nearly destroyed the Black Diamond cantina. I repeat again...we are under attack by an unknown species of incredible strength and stamina. Captain Orrelios has been captured..."

A loud sound interrupted his message and Rex pointed to where a ship was taking off.

"That must be their ship!" Rex called out getting the others' attention.

A large almost spheroid vessel was taking off from the landing area and with a loud boom lifted off into the atmosphere. Soon it was gone...

"They took him," Leka said his voice shaking with emotion. The young Lasat male's eyes were welling with tears.

"How do you know?" Rex asked.

"I...uh...sensed it."

"Are you a...Force sensitive?"

Leka nodded his head looking over at Ele who had calmed down and was leaning against him. She nodded too.

"My parents knew I was a Force sensitive the day I was born and hid me from the Empire and the Jedi. They didn't want me to be taken away," Leka explained, "My use of the Force is a bit...untrained, and I'm not very good at using it."

"Leka," Rex said placing a hand on the Lasat's muscular arm, "Is Zeb on that ship?"

"Yes...he is, and he's still alive...for the time being."

"PHANTOM II, come in!" a voice called from the tranceiver, "Kallus! Zeb! Rex! Somebody answer!"

It was Hera Syndulla.

"Uh...Spectre 2...Hera..." Rex answered his voice a bit shaky, "We're okay now...but Zeb was captured by..."

"Alien hunters," Ele added.

"What was that?" Hera asked, "Who is this?"

"Captain Syndulla," the Dathomirian female said, "I'm Eleandra Ikka-Pauen, Fulcrum agent. My bondmate Leka and I watched as they attacked people inside the Black Diamond cantina where my...father worked. These aliens are very dangerous and my people have encountered them before. They collect trophies of endangered species and since Captain Orrelios is a Lasat..."

"You need not say anything else...Ele," Hera said her voice in a calming tone, "All you you get back here as soon as you can..."

On Yavin IV:

"We have to go after them!" Leka cried as he frowned at Kanan, and several other rebels who were standing near a holographic image of Nar Shaddaa.

"Calm down...young one," Kanan said hoping the young Lasat would quiet down. Leka's Force signature was a roiling cauldron of fear and anger, a perfect blend of someone skirting close to the dark side. He reached out with the Force to Leka and the Lasat's fear began to wane. Ele stood by and put an arm around her bondmate's waist feeling his trembling easing off.

"Kanan," Ezra Bridger said still not used to a Force-sensitive Lasat who wasn't much older than he was, "We have to rescue Zeb!"

"We will, but we must formulate a plan in order to rescue him."

"While we stand around planning a rescue," Sabine Wren added her face in a frown of annoyance, "Zeb could be getting tortured...or worse!"

Both young rebels considered Zeb not only as a fellow rebel, but like a big brother to them both. The Lasat was their best friend and they cared deeply for him. They knew that Kanan and Hera felt the same way.

"Listen," Hera said her voice in mother mode, "We are going to find him. Ezra...you and Leka can help Kanan locate him if possible. Sabine, you, Ele and I along with Rex and Kallus can get the GHOST ready for a rescue mission. Sound good?"

The four young beings nodded feeling a bit better listening to Hera's calming voice. She was like a mother to Ezra, Sabine and sometimes Zeb. Now she had two more kids to look after with Ele and Leka now with them.

"Leka," Kanan said gesturing the young Lasat to come closer, "Lets, you, I and Ezra use the Force to try and locate Zeb..."


	2. Chapter 2 The Hunt Begins

A/N: Sorry for the lack of an update. Was away on a camping trip with my cousins and there wasn't any wifi coverage to use the internet. I should be able to update in a more timely manner now. In this chapter, Zeb will be taken to another planet and set loose to be hunted down. He's in for a rough time!

Chapter 2 The Hunt Begins

Zeb opened his eyes and found that he wasn't aboard the PHANTOM II and there was no sign of his companions or the two Fulcrum agents. His sensitive nose picked up strange scents that he didn't recognize and were rather offensive in nature. He tried to sit up and found out he was strapped down on a slab of sorts and also was naked.

"What the kriff?!" he asked feeling a cool breeze on his bare fur. He tried to raise his arms or bend his legs and they were bound with restraints as well. Suddenly he heard a sound that made the fur on his neck stand on end. It was a trilling and clicking sound that irritated his large ears making him flinch. Zeb moved his head and saw the owners of the sounds. It was two of the alien beings that had captured him on Nar Shaddaa.

"Hey you!" he called out trying to sit up, "Who are you...and where do you come from?"

All he got in an answer was more trilling and clicking with growls added to the sounds. Zeb rolled his eyes knowing he wouldn't get anywhere with the aliens. The Lasat lay quiet on the slab and watched as one of the alien beings ran what Zeb figured was a medical scanner over his nude body. The alien turned to it's companion and trilled a response, then ran the scanner over the Lasat's body again. Zeb's green eyes widened with oncoming fear as he saw them grab what he figured were medical instruments. They took one and pressed it against an arm. It was like a hypodermic needle and to his horror, he saw some of his dark red blood filling the syringe.

"Karabast!" he called out, "What are you doing?!"

More clicks and trills were his answer and he was relieved that they weren't doing anything else to him.

"Can you guys please put my clothes back on? It's a bit cold on your ship."

His answer came in a device that was pressed to his forehead ridges and he passed out.

Zeb opened his eyes and found he was now in a cell of some kind and to his relief, he had his Honor Guard jumpsuit back on and the chest and back armor. He shivered but not from cold and heard loud trills and growls outside of the cell. He knew they might kill him and he hoped to take a few of them with him if they tried. The ship had landed on kriff who knows where and that added to his unease. Suddenly he felt the floor go out from under him.

"KARABAST!" he cried as he fell and hit the ground on his butt. He stood up to see that he had been dropped out from the ship on a world that he didn't recognize. He heard more trills and growls and turned to see that the four alien beings that captured him were standing nearby armed with their strange weaponry. Zeb put two and two together and knew why they had brought him to the planet.

They were hunters and he was the prey...

"Oh...kriff," he whispered and turned towards the thick jungle that covered the planet and began to run. He heard the aliens pursuing him and that made him run faster.

"Wish I had my bo-rifle right about now. Oh...karking hell! "

The Lasat continued to run and found out that the thick vegetation made it hard to run through and he was glad to be a member of a species that could climb just about anything. With a grunt, Zeb grabbed a low-hanging branch of a tree that had large green fruit on it. The Lasat easily swung up into the thick branches and huddled against the rough trunk panting for breath. He closed his eyes praying to the Ashla and hoped that the hunters wouldn't find him. He spotted them moments later and they were below him. He eased his breathing and watched the beings scouting the area for any sign of him. Luckily, they hadn't found him, and Zeb could relax a little. Perking his pointed ears up, he listened to their fading footsteps and quietly climbed down out of the tree.

"Whew!" he gasped and noticed that he had gotten some scratches on his arms from the rough branches. They weren't deep, but stung like crazy, "Great! I get hurt in the first hour and I don't have a first-aid kit!"

He listened to pick up any sign of the hunters but they had disappeared. He breathed a sigh of relief and walked towards where he hoped to find something to eat and some water. First things first, he'd need that to survive. Zeb was thankful for all the survival training he received in the Honor Guard when he first joined. He snickered remembering how hard it was but knew it would save his life someday, and that day had come. The Lasat made his way through the brush and thought about his family aboard the GHOST. About now, they would be sitting around the table in the ship's galley having a meal together. That made him smile and his stomach growl. Space waffles were one of his favorite foods.

"Great!" he grumbled, "Now I'm really hungry!"

Hours went by and he kept walking until fatigue set in and he had to sit down for awhile. Hunger bit at his stomach and he was thirsty as well. He found a secluded place to rest near a large rock and leaned back closing his eyes. A sound woke him up from his light slumber and he heard a trilling that made his fur stand on end. The alien hunters had found him!

"Karabast..." he gasped and got up from the ground. His stomach growled again and the sound carried through the area. Zeb hoped they didn't hear it but they did. Soon he caught sight of the hunters and their weapons. A bright red light appeared near the shoulder cannon weapon and it was aimed at his head! As the weapon readied to fire, Zeb ducked out of the way and watched the bushes behind him burst into flame and burn away. A loud roar sounded from the largest hunter and Zeb took off running. He didn't turn around knowing they could easily catch up with him. He had to keep moving no matter how tired, thirsty and hungry he was. He heard the weapons fire again near his head and suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his left ear. He reached a hand up and to his horror felt that the tip of the pointed ear was gone! Grimacing against the pain, Zeb kept on running, nothing but adrenalin keeping him going. The smell of singed fur and burned skin made him nearly throw up but he kept running.

Several hours later, Zeb stopped running, his breathing in wheezy sobs. He fell to the ground and curled up as the adrenalin left his body. For a few minutes he lay getting his ragged breathing to return to normal and got back up. He staggered for a moment and felt pain in his injured ear. He put a clawed finger up and felt the ragged flesh that was the tip of his left ear. Gritting his teeth, he swallowed hard feeling the nausea set in. Bending over, the Lasat vomited on the ground and kept on until all he was doing was dry heave. Shaking, Zeb stood back up and began to walk hopely away from the hunters so he could rest a bit. Total exhaustion set in awhile later and he fell to the ground unconscious, oblivious to what was going on around him...

He awoke to the sensation of something licking at his injured ear.

"Hey!" he cried out sitting up and saw the culprit behind the licking.

It was a small furry animal that was the size of an aak pup and covered in a thick coat of black fur with streaks of white throughout. It had a face that looked a bit ferocious but the big green eyes with black pupils reflected warmth and intelligence. It's long furry ears stood up and it moved closer to Zeb. The Lasat flinched for a moment and then saw that the animal meant him no harm. Slowly, Zeb reached a hand over to pet the animal on the head getting a purring out of it that made him smile.

"At least you like me. Those hunters sure don't."

The creature jumped into his lap and reached up to lick his injured ear making Zeb flinch for a moment but that faded as the animal's tongue was soothing to the severed tip. He closed his eyes and tried to sit up but a wave of dizziness made him fall over again. The animal let out a whimper and curled up next to his head nuzzling the Lasat's furry cheek. That made Zeb chuckle a bit and he closed his eyes hearing the animal begin to purr again. Soon he fell asleep...

A loud growling woke him up hours later and he saw the animal standing next to him, the fur on it's back standing on end. The big eyes were narrowed with anger and he saw that the creature had a mouthful of fangs that were bigger than his. Zeb's uninjured ear perked up and he heard a familiar trilling and clicking that made all fatigue leave. He got up and turned to run farther into the jungle followed by the furry animal. Zeb looked back and got a glimpse of one of the hunters brandishing a weapon he hadn't seen before; a long staff/spear that was as long as his bo-staff. Swallowing hard he looked up at the trees and saw that a large branch was within reach. With the movements of his native people, Zeb grabbed the branch and hoisted himself up into the highest branches. One of the smaller hunters spotted him in the branches and aimed the spear. Zeb moved out of the way but not in time. The weapon grazed his right side opening up a wound that hurt like the nine Corellian Hells.

"Karabast!" he cried out and fell out of the tree to land on one of the smaller hunters. It uttered a loud roar and pushed Zeb off it but not before activating the wrist knives that made Zeb's eyes widen in shock. They were nearly as long as his arm!

"Oh no you don't!" he grumbled and grabbed the bigger alien's hand before the blades could sever his head from his body. He twisted the limb and the hunter cried out in pain throwing the Lasat off to the side. Snarling with rage, Zeb twisted the alien's arm more and the sound of breaking bones was heard over the snarling. The other three hunters jumped back seeing that Zeb had the upper hand for a moment. Suddenly, Zeb jerked the alien's arm more and it came off at the elbow with a sickening crack. Bright green blood spurted out and Zeb nearly threw up at the sight and smell. The shock wore off and the now disabled alien hunter grabbed Zeb by the scruff of his neck and brought him close to his helmeted face.

"Karabast!" the creature said in a near-perfect imitation of the Lasat's deep accented voice. Zeb's eyes widened in shock and he struggled to free himself from the alien's grip. He managed to squirm free as the alien was weakening from blood loss. The leader let out a loud roar and activated it's wrist knives to plunge into the injured hunter's chest, the weird colored blood spraying all over Zeb's face and upper body. He jerked back and stumbled as he got up.

"Okay...guys," Zeb said as he hoped they'd leave him alone now, "I'm out of here."

The three surviving aliens pushed a button on one of their wrist gauntlets and they disappeared before Zeb's eyes. Heaving a deep sigh, Zeb turned around and began to run farther into the jungle hoping that he'd seen the last of the alien hunters, but he knew that wasn't to be...

Back on Yavin IV:

Zeb's family worried for him and they prepared to begin a search for the lost Lasat. They had contacted other rebel cells throughout the galaxy to see if they could help in the search, but they weren't able to supply them with any info about Zeb's whereabouts. Hera and Kanan worried for their friend's safety not unlike two concerned parents with Ezra and Sabine worrying for their "big brother" just as much. The other rebels including Rex and Kallus worried more than any of them. They felt guilty at not being able to help their friend and wanted to search on their own but were warned not too. The Barrelian female who had taken an interest in Zeb recently was worried about him and fretted.

"Where is Garazeb?" she kept asking of Kanan and Hera.

"We don't know, Ayessa," Hera said to the tall dark-skinned beauty, "We lost track off him after he was...taken."

"We must find him," she said in her sultry sounding voice that shook with emotion, "We have to find him."

"We will," Kanan answered laying a hand on the taller female's shoulder. He reached out through the Force and felt how much affection the Barrelian felt for Zeb. It was bordering on love.

Leka and Ele Pauen were just as worried and contacted some friends that bordered on being criminals to help in the search. They had found out that the aliens that took Zeb were from a faraway planet that Ele's people had encountered before. Leka even used his Force abilities to try and connect with Zeb but didn't sense the older Lasat male. Kanan and Ezra were trying to help the young Lasat with his developing abilities but Leka proved to be a difficult student, due to his Lasat temperment. With Hera's maternal ministrations, the youngster began to relax more and could utilize his abilities.

Back on the jungle world:

Zeb awoke from sleeping for nearly a day when he discovered that he still had his furry companion by his side. His side hurt from the laser blast that lucklily had only grazed the fur and skin.

"Oh...kriff!" he grumbled through gritted teeth, "This really hurts!"

He looked down at the drying blood and shuddered. Zeb knew he had to bandage the wound before it got infected and knowing he had no bacta bandages handy, he looked down at his skin-tight Honor Guard jumpsuit. He reached up and removed his chest and back armor and proceeded to unfasten the top of the jumpsuit slipping it off his chest and back. Smiling he looked down at his still muscular and slim chest covered with the two-tone purple fur. Even at forty-three dust seasons of age, he still had the youthful muscles of a male of his species. Getting back to the matter at hand, Zeb tore the material down the middle and took part of it to make a bandage. Turning to the animal who was now licking at his injured side, Zeb saw that there was a stream nearby. He walked over, bent down and washed the dried blood away from the wound. Zeb frowned seeing how big the wound was and closed his eyes as he wrapped the makeshift bandage around it.

"Good thing I listened in survival training," he said and sat down against a tree stump to rest. The furry animal lay on his lap snoring loudly making Zeb smile, for he snored loudly at times too. He started to fall asleep when a familiar trilling sounded making both ears perk up.

"Oh...karabast, here we go again..."


	3. Chapter 3 The Hunt Continues

A/N: In this chapter, Zeb is still on the run from the predatory aliens that have decided to hunt him down. If any of you readers have figured out from the description of the alien hunters, they are the Predators from the movies and numerous graphic novels and comics that have been written about them. I thought it would make an interesting story to have them hunt a species that is endangered such as the Lasat...

Chapter 3 The Hunt Continues

Nearly a week went by and the alien hunters kept Zeb on the run. The small furry creature that had befriended him was still at his side, and when he was able to grab some sleep, the animal curled up next to him. After the death of one of the hunters, Zeb had gone back to get some of the weapons off the corpse, but the many animals of the jungle had nearly devoured it. The dismembered arm had been dragged off into the bushes and Zeb found it with the wrist gauntlet still attached. He pulled it off the decaying limb and was relieved that the gauntlet fit his muscular forearm. The Lasat went back to his hiding place to study the gauntlet and how to work the knives hidden within. Playing around with the controls on it, he discovered how to release the knives to their full length.

"This ought to give them something to think about," he said as he curled up on the ground, the furry creature laying next to him. Zeb's rest didn't last for long as he heard a trilling that made his fur stand on end, "Karabast...c'mon little guy, we have to move."

He moved deeper into the jungle and swung up into a tree the animal following him. Zeb positioned himself on a large branch waiting for the hunters to appear. Soon he saw their familiar scaly skin and smelled their offensive decaying scent. Shuddering with a feeling of revulsion, the Lasat glared down at the aliens with a look of pure hatred. He held the gauntlet close to his bare chest and readied to activate the knives when to his horror, he saw them look right up at him!

"Karking hell!" he cried out and jumped away just in time before a blast of the shoulder weapon blew the limb off he was sitting on. He fell to the ground and groaned feeling the side wound open up again. He gritted his teeth against the pain but got up to run as they pursued him. The little animal kept up with his long stride and even overtook him. Zeb ran until the muscles in his legs burned with pain from using them more than he had used them in a long time.

"Gotta exercize more," he said his breath in pants, "You don't seem to be out of breath, little guy."

The small furry creature looked up at him and nuzzled against his arm. Zeb looked down and saw that his side was bleeding again and he was glad that the stream flowing through the jungle, was nearby. He bent down and removed his makeshift bandage to look at the injury. Gently, he washed the blood away and re-wrapped the bandage on it. He made his way up to where some bushes were and sat down, the animal sitting beside him. It crawled onto his lap wanting to be petted. Zeb obliged it and smiled feeling relieved to have some kind of companionship even it were a furry creature of an unknown species. The little animal began to purr and Zeb dozed off, the sound lulling him to sleep...

Back on Yavin IV:

Preparations were being readied for a search for Zeb. The leaders of the rebels were reluctant to allow Hera and her group to search for the lost Lasat even though he was a valued member of the team. Senators Mothma and Organa noticed that the GHOST crew were more like a family than a group of rebel fighters. Sometimes that clouded their judgement during dire situations but they always came through when needed.

"You wouldn't give up on someone you cared for would you, Senator Mothma?" Hera asked after being told they didn't have the resources to search for Zeb.

"Of course not, Captain Syndulla," the senator from Chandrilla said, "You have to realize that we don't have enough people to use in such an endeavour. I'm sorry..."

"Well...," Hera said her anger building, "I guess Kanan and I will go search for him. We'll take the PHANTOM II."

"Not without us," Sabine said seeing Ezra look just as flustered at not searching for Zeb.

"Us, too!" Rex said gesturing to Kallus to stand by him. The former agent had been more subdued since Zeb's disappearance and blamed himself for the whole situation.

Ele and Leka Pauen stood nearby and their young faces were in frowns of disbelief. The Dathomirian and Lasat worked feverishly with Kallus contacting smugglers and other assorted low lifes but they came up empty. The only lead they had was from a bounty hunter by the name of Bossk, a Trandoshan that always was looking for a bounty to line his pockets. He had heard about a group of aliens that were unknown to most in the galaxy but liked to hunt other beings for sport, especially beings of an endangered species. They would choose their trophies by species and also worthiness of leadership. Zeb being a former member of the Lasan Honor Guard made him a prime candidate for hunting down.

Ayessa, the Barrelian female rebel, heard all the commotion and walked down a path away from the arguing rebels. She needed a chance to catch her breath and was extremely worried about Zeb and wouldn't admit she was developing strong feelings of affection for the big Lasat. She carried a small pack on her back and hoped to find a quiet place. After walking for nearly an hour she found the perfect spot.

It was near a waterfall and pool of clear water that the other rebels like to visit when time allowed them between missions. She removed her pack and opened it bringing out a golden object that almost resembled the meteorite that Kallus kept from his adventure with Zeb on the Geonosian moon. This thing glowed with a light that seemed to come from deep within. She found a large rock near the waterfall and set the glowing object on top of it. Ayessa sat down in front of the rock, legs crossed and placed her delicate hands on her knees. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and began to speak in her native tongue. The sounds were almost musical in their tone and her closed eyes became moist with unshed tears. She was delivering a prayer for the return of her "sycha" which in Barrelian meant "beloved". Ayessa was declaring her love for Zeb and hoped that he would return the feelings of affection.

"Garazeb," she whispered as she opened her eyes, tears trickling down her golden cheeks, "Please come home...I wish I told you before you left how much I care about you. I am telling you, sycha, I want you for my bondmate."

She stopped speaking and fingered her Barrelian necklace of adulthood around her slim neck and closed her eyes. Her species being telepathic expressed intimacy in the joining of minds and the touching of foreheads. With Zeb being from a non-telepathic species, she knew that it would be more difficult to express affection, but she knew her people had joined with non-telepaths before, namely Twi'leks. Her own grandfather had joined with a Twi'lek female and had a successful relationship, so her joining with a Lasat male wasn't so out of the ordinary...just different. She had been attracted to the Lasat rebel from the first day she had met him, admiring his tall muscular frame and mostly it was his luminous green eyes that had stolen her heart. She saw warmth and a heart of gold in those eyes. Now she may never gaze on those eyes again and it hurt...

Zeb slept and in his exhausted state, he began to dream:

He dreamed about being home on Yavin IV and was interacting with Kanan, Hera, Ezra, Sabine, Rex and Kallus. The rebels were playing an exciting round of Sabaac and Zeb was winning. Ayessa sat nearby watching and he stole glances back and forth with her. The dream changed to them taking a walk down the path to the waterfall. Ayessa being taller, had an arm around Zeb's waist and he didn't mind being seen with a female that was a head and a half taller than he was. The Barrelian beauty turned alot of heads and he was proud to have on his arm, such a beautiful female and she was attracted to him! Some of the other female rebels who had been trying to win his attention, felt a bit envious but were happy for him. Both human, Snivven, Twi'lek and Gotal females had been giving him looks of interest in the past year, but he just smiled at them not showing he wanted anything but friendship from them until Ayessa came along. The tall dark-skinned beauty had caught his attention and she was throwing him signals of interest back. Her winning him in a round of arm wrestling made the attraction grow stronger. Here was a female that was strong enough to keep up with him!

As he sunk into a deeper slumber, Zeb found himself sitting next to Ayessa beside the waterfall, the spray getting their clothing a bit damp but they didn't notice. She had told Zeb about how Barrelians showed affection for each other by telepathy and he agreed to join minds with her. Sitting cross-legged on the grass, Ayessa and Zeb closed their eyes and held each other's hands as she began the ritual of joining. As their minds came together, Zeb gasped at how erotic the feeling was and he felt his fur grow muskier with arousal. As the link deepened, Ayessa began to react to the erotic feelings too and sighed. They moved closer and soon were in each other's arms, damp clothing beginning to be removed...and then Zeb felt cold metal on his neck and he woke up with a start. The hunters had found him!

Growling, Zeb rolled away from the hunter's weapon and got up to run. He felt pain in his side but kept running knowing that if they caught him, he'd be dead in minutes. Letting out a groan of pain, Zeb continued to run and looked down at the alien gauntlet he wore on his left wrist. Grinning, he activated the weapon to it's full length and readied to do battle with the three surviving hunters. He discovered a tall tree nearby and jumped up into it, his injured side burning with pain but he ignored it. His animal companion climbed up into the tree beside him nuzzling his side. A loud trilling sounded and he looked down to see that the hunters were nearing his hiding place. Swallowing hard, the Lasat climbed higher in the tree and watched as the aliens approached.

"That's it," he whispered, "Just a little closer..."

With a Lasat battle cry, Zeb leaped down from the tree and landed in a crouch near the leader. He stood up seeing that the alien was three times his size but he wasn't afraid.

"Okay...you karking creeps!" he yelled activating the wrist knives. The alien leader let out a trill of surprise seeing the Lasat with one of their weapons. "Give it your best shot!"

With a roar that made Zeb's fur stand on end, the tall alien hunter moved closer and stared down at the smaller Lasat. It bent down to his height and uttered more trills making Zeb's frown deepen.

"What the?!" Zeb said seeing how close the alien was to him.

Suddenly he felt a large clawed hand around his throat and the sensation of being lifted off his feet. Gasping for breath, Zeb tried to free himself and looked over at his left hand with the alien weapon. With a grunt of effort, Zeb raised his left hand up and hit the leader across his chest opening up a big cut on the hunter's chest. Neon green blood flowed from the wound and the creature dropped Zeb to the ground. It let out a roar of pain and fell to the ground. The wound wasn't fatal but just angered it more than anything. Zeb saw his chance to escape and ran further into the jungle hoping that his attack on the leader would make them now leave him alone. He ran until he ran out of breath and was surprised to see that the small furry creature that befriended him had caught up to him again. Zeb sank to the ground seeing that he was covered with the alien blood and it nearly made him gag. Stumbling down to the stream of water, he washed off the foul-smelling blood and sat down to catch his breath. The animal crawled onto his lap and Zeb scratched it behind it's large furry ears. That caused it to begin purring and Zeb, lulled by the sound, fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.

In another part of the jungle, the three alien hunters also rested and tended to their wounds. One of the smaller ones tended to the largest and trilled as it washed the cut clean and then gave it what looked like a syringe of medication was injected into it's chest near the laceration. As the medication stung, the alien hunter let out a cry of pain that echoed through the jungle. Miles away, Zeb's pointed ears perked up hearing the painful cry. He knew that wounding it, probably made the hunter more angry with him and most likely would pursue him with a stronger intent. He had to watch his back more...and also what was in front of him. They could be anywhere with that strange light-bending camophlage that they possessed. Zeb knew the next thing he needed to get from them, was that and possibly one of the shoulder cannons.

"All right, guys," he said flexing the muscles of both arms and hands, "You want a war? I'll give you a war, and I don't plan on losing."


	4. Chapter 4 Survival Tactics

A/N: Poor Zeb! Can he take any more being hunted and trying to stay ahead of the alien hunters? Now he has to deal with trying to survive on what he can find to eat. At least he has access to a water source. He finds out that too much of some foods isn't good for the digestion! Wasn't sure if this chapter saved on Word Pad. Had a bad thunderstorm yesterday knocking out the power until this morning and I lost part of the chapter. Hope it still is okay. Warning for mature content (dream sequences)

Chapter 4 Survival Tactics

"Ugh...oh Karabast!" Zeb groaned as he felt another stomach cramp. Soon the sound of voiding bowels interrupted his pain. The Lasat was squatting, lower half of his jumpsuit at his feet as he had another round of watery diarrhea. This had been going on for two days along with vomiting, and he knew it was because of having nothing to eat but the green fuzzy fruits from the trees. They were upsetting his stomach bad and he was paying for it! . He looked over to see the furry creature staring at him in what looked like sympathy.

"You're lucky," he said to the animal as he cleaned himself up with water and leaves and pulled up his jumpsuit, "Nothing seems to bother your stomach. Must be these kriffin' fruits from the trees that's killing my stomach. Better find something else to eat before I poop myself too death! Oh...Karabast..."

He ran back to the area he just used and unfortunately didn't get his jumpsuit down in time.

"Karking hell!" he grumbled as he pulled the soiled bottoms off his eyes teary with embarrassment and pain. A few minutes later, naked from the waist down, Zeb was washing out his dirty jumpsuit in a deep part of the stream hoping the water wouldn't get too contaminated. The stream had a strong current in the middle and the water cleared up quickly.

"Geez, at least I'm halfway clean," he said as he waded out into the water up to the bottom of his chest and back armor. The soothing coolness felt good on the irritated fur of his buttocks and to his annoyance, some of the fur had rubbed off and the skin was developing a rash.

Zeb got out of the water, shook his fur off and went to lay on the grass to dry off. The sun felt good on his damp naked half and he felt the animal lay next to him. He smiled and put an arm around the creature where it began to purr. It's sounds were like a lullabye to the Lasat and he fell asleep only to be awakened by a bad round of vomiting less than an hour later.

"Oh...Karabast," he whimpered as tears streamed down his furry cheeks. Zeb sat on the ground as more whimpers sounded deep in his throat. Between the puking and pooping, the Lasat was in bad shape. The animal cuddled up next to him trying to make him feel better and to let him know he wasn't alone. Zeb was relieved to have the companionship, especially now. He began to think about his family on the GHOST and how much he missed them. Feeling as rotten as he did, he knew if he were on the ship, Hera would be taking care of him in that maternal way of hers. He thought back at the time when he, Ezra and Sabine had Loth-cat flu and how sick they were. She never complained at picking up after them when they'd puke on the deck or in their bunks. Kanan offered paternal comfort too in his own Jedi way, but it wasn't the soothing, nurturing comfort that Hera offered, and now he wished she were there to soothe his troubles. He sat sniffling letting the tears fall, not caring that the animal was sitting watching him behave like a Lasat kit. After a few moments he took a deep breath willing the tears to stop.

"Kriff!" he said as he wiped the last of the tears away, "A captain of the Lasan High Honor Guard wouldn't let some stomach trouble reduce him to a sniveling cry baby! Suck it up, Zeb, you're tougher than that! You...You...are tougher than that!"

He curled up on the ground in a fetal position, feeling the furry creature curl up to his chest purring in a soothing manner. Zeb felt his guard go down and he began to cry and felt the animal lick his tears away soothing him in the only way it knew how. Soon he fell asleep and dreamed...

Zeb found himself standing by the waterfall on Yavin IV gazing at the tranquil scenery and he looked like he did now; dirty, injured and sick.

"Garazeb," a pleasant voice sounded.

He turned around and saw...Ayessa. The tall dark-skinned Barrelian was standing by the pool's edge and she had on a gown that looked like it was spun gold. It hugged her curvy body and Zeb took notice.

"Garazeb," she said again and walked over to place a hand against his face, "Oh...my poor sycha."

Zeb sighed feeling her gentle touch on his furry cheeks and her honey smell that was paradise to his senses. He hoped that she would keep caressing his face for it not only felt soothing, but also a bit erotic. She lead him over to sit by a big rock that had a glowing stone on top of it. Easing him onto the ground, she sat next to him still caressing his face. She began to sing to him in her native tongue and he fell asleep...

Back in the jungle, Zeb stirred for a moment, turned over onto his stomach and sank into a deeper slumber. The creature curled up next to him nuzzling it's long snout against his side. Zeb began to dream...even more...

He was sitting by the waterfall, legs crossed, hands on his knees, and his big green eyes closed in utter bliss. All he had on was his ragged Honor Guard jumpsuit bottoms, furry torso bare except for the bandage on his side.

Off near the trees stood Ayessa and she again wore her robe of spun gold. She smiled seeing Zeb in what looked like deep meditation. She walked over towards him and while doing that, she reached up to the high neck of her robe to unlace it down to the middle of her chest. The outline of her full breasts covered in golden tattoos shown along with the erect nipples of gold hue. She knealt in front of Zeb and caressed his face. He opened his eyes seeing how close she was kneeling by him. A smile crossed his Lasat features and he felt a bit aroused seeing the outline of her breasts.

"Garazeb," she said in her sultry voice, "I want to get closer to you. In order to do that, I must join minds with you. Do you want to try? I know you are not a telepath, but my people have joined with non-telepaths before. My grandfather was joined to a Twi'lek female and they were very happy together until their deaths a few years ago."

"Uh...Okay, I'm willing to try. What do I do?" Zeb asked a bit uneasy at the prospect of someone diving into his most private thoughts. What he was thinking about Ayessa bordered on being erotic. Her nearly exposed breasts weren't helping.

"Just relax, I'll be doing all the work. I need you to take a deep breath, close your eyes and let your mind go blank."

Zeb took a deep breath, closed his eyes and tried to block away any unnecessary thoughts. Ayessa placed her hands on either side of his face, her gentle touch easing him into a fugue state. She smiled and took her fingers to run from his forehead ridges down to his cheeks and sideburns where she gently caressed them. Zeb relaxed more and a smile of pure bliss crossed his face. Suddenly a warm golden glow appeared from her hands and enveloped Zeb's whole body with a gentle hue that made the Lasat smile more. He let out a loud sigh and sat up straighter, his head back, lips parted. Ayessa opened her eyes seeing he was still joined to her and went deeper into his mind...Closing her eyes, she smiled seeing scenes of friendship, loyalty, a strong moral compass when it came to fighting the Empire and most of all a strong feeling of love towards his adopted family; the crew of the GHOST. Smiling more, she sunk deeper into the Lasat's memories and saw the deep sadness and guilt he felt at not being able to save his people from the Empire's near genoside of his species. Tears burned behind her closed eyes and she shook off the sadness to reach another part of Zeb's mind. She shivered with a feeling of arousal as she saw what he was feeling towards her and it was very erotic. The Lasat wanted to mate with her. She could feel that he was being more aroused by the second and the emotions were affecting her.

"My sycha," she whispered as she deepened the meld. Zeb moaned and his large body shivered as the arousal grew. Ayessa knew that she needed to ease her way out of his mind seeing how he was reacting. Taking a deep breath, she pulled her hands away and saw his green eyes open. They were a bit unfocused for a moment then he saw her face.

"Ayessa," he whispered, "That...That was...incredible!"

"The joining of minds for a non-telepath can be a bit disconcerting but is not dangerous," she said still kneeling in front of him.

"Ayessa," he asked leaning forward his face close to hers, "My people show affection in a different way, with a kiss."

"A kiss? What is that?"

"Let me show you..."

Zeb leaned forward more and with one of his big hands layed against her face, pressed his lips to hers in a tender kiss, Ayessa's eyes widening in amazement at the feeling .

"That is nice," she said her eyes half closed, "Garazeb, will you kiss me again?"

The Lasat put his arms around her pulling her closer where he could give her a deeper kiss. Ayessa sighed her own feelings of seduction overcoming her. She pulled away for a moment and brushed her lips against his cheek.

"I never knew expressing love could be like this," she whispered and then felt his hands moving from her face down her back and settled on her buttocks that he began to caress. She shivered a moment but enjoyed the feelings of desire that were traveling through her body. Barrelians usually felt desire through their mind joining and only mated when it was time to procreate, but Ayessa was feeling her body react the way her mind should. She moved closer and began to kiss Zeb in a more passionate way. The Lasat sighed and pulled her closer his fur growing warmer and the scent of musk becoming more pronounced.

Ayessa pulled away and unlaced her robe all the way, the material parting and falling from her shoulders, now sweating breasts with erect nipples beckoning to him. Giving a low purr of lust, the Lasat pulled her closer and fumbled at his jumpsuit bottoms to free that which made him male. Ayessa pulled her robe down more and showed her brood pouch where a humanoid navel would be located. The golden hued pouch was pulsing with desire and opening up. She guided him to her and they became one, both sighing loudly. While mating, they explored each other's bodies with their hands and Ayessa found out she enjoyed feeling the Lasat's touch on not just her face but on her neck, shoulders and down to her breasts that he cupped in his hands ever so gently. Sighing louder, Ayessa ran her hands over his face, neck and his chest getting a low purr of sexual pleasure out of him, then she moved to his pointed ears; an erotic part of a male Lasat's body. Smiling in a seductive way, Ayessa ran her hand over his ear and then began to lick the soft fur. Zeb moaned and his body stiffened up, the arousal reaching it's peak.

"Ayessa!" he cried out feeling that he was losing himself in the Barrelian's honey scented flesh, "Ayessa! Oh, Karabast!"

Zeb woke up to find that the furry animal was the one licking his ear, not Ayessa. He also noted that he was highly aroused and saw that he had released a great amount of seed within his jumpsuit bottoms. Ears drooping with embarrassment, Zeb got up to go down to the deep part of the stream to wash the sweat and sex off him and rinse out what was left of his jumpsuit. The was the first erotic dream he had had in a long time and it seemed so real. He now knew that he harbored strong feelings for Ayessa and if he ever gets home, he would ask her to be his bondmate, so they could consumate their affections for each other in a proper manner.

Zeb finished drying his fur off and ventured further into the jungle. He heard the numerous sounds of the jungle creatures, but an alien trilling sounded and not too far away. Zeb knew that the hunters had found him. With the furry animal following him, Zeb leaped up into a tall tree and waited for the hunters to approach. He sat for hours and satisfied that the hunters were gone, he jumped out of the tree.

He felt a large hand close around his throat as he hit the ground and knew that they had found him! The alien that had grabbed his throat, was one of the smaller ones and he wriggled free of it's grasp. That angered the being and it activated it's wrist knives and slashed at Zeb. Unfortunately, the Lasat didn't move in time and he received a nasty laceration across his right leg. Crying out in pain and rage, Zeb activated his own wrist knives and attacked. The larger beings easily broke away and activated their camophlage disappearing from his view.

"KARABAST!" he screamed and fell to the ground his breath in ragged sobs. He picked himself up and stood until his breathing eased up. The furry animal nuzzled against his leg and saw the wound. It began to lick away the dark red Lasat blood.

"Thanks, little guy," he said as he looked around for a stick or branch that he could use for a crutch. He found one awhile later and sat down to smooth out the rough surfaces with the wrist knives. Being razor sharp, it made the job easier. Soon the Lasat had a makeshift crutch that he could lean on until he could look after his leg.

When twilight fell on the jungle world, Zeb finally stopped to look at the newest wound to his leg. He grimaced seeing how big and deep the laceration was.

"Kriff...," he grumbled and limped down to the stream that to his relief was still nearby. At least he still had a source of water to sustain him. He sat on the stream shore and stretched his injured leg out seeing the blood soaked fur and also seeing how deep the cut was. Gritting his teeth, Zeb pulled the fur apart and saw the reflection of his leg bone, showing the cut was a bad one.

"If only I were near a medical facility like the one on Yavin IV," he said gritting his teeth again as he began to wash out the nasty wound. He cried out in pain squeezing his eyes shut to keep the tears from falling. After washing out the cut, Zeb removed his jumpsuit bottoms and tore the material in two and made a bandage to cover the laceration. He knew it needed suturing, but he wasn't near any medics. He kept enough of his jumpsuit to make a loincloth to cover up his backside and front.

"Don't need those kriffin' hunters seeing anything they have no business seeing," he said a crooked grin appearing on his grimy face. He looked over at some of the smaller shrubs and saw that the branches looked sturdy. Grinning more, Zeb limped over and with the knives, cut the biggest one off seeing it was as thick as his thumb.

"This will make a good spear. Maybe I can make other weapons too."

Thinking back on his survival training while being in the Honor Guard, Zeb remembered how to fashion a bow and arrow with what he could harvest in the jungle or where ever he was stranded. The wood and bark of the shrubs would do the trick. He knew even though he was outgunned by a longshot, Zeb could defend himself with his bare hands if he had too. After all, he had ripped one of the hunter's arms off before the leader stabbed it too death.

"Oh, what I'd like to do with these knives or this spear," he said his face in a vicious grin, "I could show you some new levels of pain..."


	5. Chapter 5 Time Passes On

A/N: In this chapter, Zeb continues to survive against the three surviving hunters and will get the upper hand on them. He is relying on all the survival training he went through when he was in the Honor Guard, and that is keeping him alive...

Chapter 5 Time Passes On

Twelve weeks had passed and Zeb continued to elude the alien hunters. They still pursued him, but he always stayed two paces ahead of them. With time going by and not having enough rest and proper food, Zeb was becoming increasingly weaker and he was starting to show signs of malnutrition. The furry animal continued to be by his side and he began to call the creature Ashla, after the Lasat version of the Force. After getting sick from eating too many tree fruits, the Lasat was relieved that with Ashla's help, he had gotten pretty good at trapping small animals. It took awhile to get used to eating raw meat but he was glad for the change in diet.

"Tastes good, doesn't it, Ashla?" he said leaning back against a tree trunk and chewed on what were the remains of a lizard-like animal that tasted somewhat like bantha meat. The little animal cuddled onto his lap and chewed on her own piece of meat. Zeb wasn't sure if the animal were male or female but he began to refer to it as "she", because of the name Ashla.

The past two days the hunters had left Zeb alone and he chose the time to make some more weapons from the tree wood and other things in the jungle. He had fashioned rope out of tree root fibers and bark fibers. The Lasat was now deeper in the jungle and he figured that he and Ashla had covered over half of the jungle planet. The stream he had been following had now broadened into a river with the air warmer and more humid, making the Lasat's fur sweat more and take on a more musky smell.

"Phew!" Zeb said as he got a whiff of his rather aromatic body, "I think I need to take a bath in the river! What I would give for a bar of soap! Maybe this vine sap will work. Smells kinda nice. What do you think, Ashla?"

The animal gave him a purr of affection and nudged his arm.

"You love me know matter what I smell like," he said as he began to remove his chest and back armor, laying it on the makeshift bed of tree boughs he had been sleeping on. Removing his small loincloth, he wandered naked into the water, sighing at how soothing the cool water felt on his fur and injuries. Ashla had wandered into the water too and was lapping at the water with her long tongue. Zeb leaned back and floated feeling totally relaxed until he felt the carcass of a dead animal land on his bare chest.

"Karabast!" he cried seeing the bloody thing and flung it away. Off in the distance stood the three hunters and they were trilling with each other. The largest fired it's shoulder cannon and Zeb ducked under the water the shot nearly hitting him. He swam off away from the area and came up for breath in amongst some shrubs that grew next to the water. Panting for breath, Zeb watched as the hunters looked around for him and then walked out into the water in the direction of where he was hiding. Growling in his throat, the Lasat took off under the water and swam until he had to surface to breathe. He looked around for somewhere to hide and saw that a mound of muddy dirt beckoned to him. With his clawed fingers, Zeb dug himself a hole into the mound and waited to see if they would find him.

His fears were justified as he heard splashes and the trilling sounds that marked the hunters return. He held his breath for a moment and then stayed as still as he could manage. From his hiding place, he saw the legs of his pursuers and they were so close he could've reached out to touch them. Hardly breathing, Zeb watched as they looked around and trilled to each other poking at the mound of mud and then the leader bent down to peek into the area where Zeb was hiding. Zeb held his breath and to his relief, the alien moved away, not seeing anything. He continued to sit still until they left and then he crawled out covered in mud. He was puzzled at the lead alien not seeing him. Maybe they couldn't see in something as dense as mud.

"Ashla!" he called hoping his companion was nearby. He heard a familiar grunting and then felt a wet tongue licking mud off his face, "Am I glad to see you!"

A few minutes later, Zeb swam back to his makeshift camp and was relieved that the hunters hadn't taken his clothing. Getting redressed in what was left of his clothing, the Lasat sat down to rest and reorganize. Knowing that the aliens could swim like he could, Zeb knew that he had to find a way to get ahead of them and quickly! Looking around at the trees, Zeb cut several of the bigger ones with the use of the alien wrist knives that were razor sharp. He was going to make a raft for him and Ashla to navigate the river and possibly get away from the hunters. For the next few hours and then into the night, Zeb built his raft of fallen trees, root rope and tree sap to seal the cracks. By early morning, the Lasat collapsed from exhaustion and curled up on some tree boughs with Ashla next to him. He would sleep until the next morning and woke up a bit confused. Ashla licked his now dry face and nudged his arm.

"Ashla, how long did I sleep?" he asked taking the animal into his arms where she reached up to lick his pug-like nose, "Feel a little better, and am I hungry!"

The two beings went on the hunt for something to eat and soon found one of the little lizards. It didn't take long for them to make a meal of it. Zeb rubbed his bare stomach and smiled as he leaned back for a rest. It wouldn't last long...

The alien hunters were approaching and with his keen hearing, the Lasat heard them and his anger burned. He was getting tired of the aliens not letting him ever rest for very long. He grabbed his spear and the other weapons he had made from the jungle's resources. One was a sling-type device that faintly resembled Ezra's old energy slingshot. Zeb could launch stones from over a long distance to hopefully hit one of the aliens in the head. The other was a snare that he made out of root fibers and bark. He set one up near a tall tree and waited.

A few minutes later, from his perch in a tall tree, Zeb saw the hunters approach and he readied his sling. With a grin on his face, the Lasat let the sling go with a large stone in it. He had aimed right and the stone hit one of the smaller hunters along side the head knocking it off it's feet. The leader looked up at the trees and spotted Zeb crouched on a high branch.

"Come and get me, guys!" he taunted and leaped to another branch. The leader growled and then went to a nearby tree climbing up after the Lasat.

"Uh...oh...forgot you guys can climb trees too, but you aren't as fast as a Lasat, are you? Catch me if you can!"

He kept leaping from branch to branch, keeping ahead of the bigger alien and then miscalculated the distance to the nearest tree. Zeb tried to grab a branch and fell to the ground landing on his right arm wrong. By the feel of the pain, he knew the bone in his forearm was broken. He hissed with pain and picked himself up. The hunter who he had hit with the sling, got up and approached the Lasat who was now cradling a broken arm. It let out a hiss of anger and lunged towards Zeb. The Lasat moved out of the way but not before giving the taller alien a punch to the side of it's head. The alien's helmet flew off and it fell to the ground stunned. Zeb turned and got his first look at one of the alien's faces, if you could call it a face.

The creature's face was nothing but a maw of teeth, small mouth opening and four mandible tusks, two on each side quivering. It's nose was nothing but two slits under each eye. The alien's eyes were small and a sickly yellow color with small pupils. It uttered a hiss and looked to be having trouble breathing. Small spikes bordered it's forehead ridges and they were also quivering.

"Karabast!" Zeb said with disgust, "I thought my face looked bad...Buddy, you win hands down in the ugly department. You are one ugly bugger!"

The beady eyes narrowed in anger and the creature let out a roar as it stood up activating it's wrist knives. Zeb stood his ground and also activated his wrist knives.

"Oh...you wanna fight? Okay, ugly...you'll get one!"

Zeb threw himself forward in an inhuman motion and landed smack in the alien's chest knocking the wind out of it. The creature let out a loud roar and threw Zeb off it's chest and swiped the wrist knives at the Lasat's legs. Zeb moved out of the way but not in time. His left leg took a slice to the calf and he let out a cry that echoed through the jungle. This just made Zeb madder and he slashed out at the hunter again seeing that it was breathing heavy as if the air wasn't right for it's lungs. With a loud roar, the Lasat raised his arm with the wrist knives and brought it down into the creature's chest, it letting out a cry of pain that was louder than Zeb's. Growling, Zeb drove the knives further into the now dying alien's chest and felt the creature shudder in it's death throes. The lead hunter and the other smaller one watched as Zeb removed the other arm gauntlet and attempted to remove the shoulder cannon but a blast from the leader's weapon threw him aside. When Zeb looked up he saw that the dead hunter was nothing but a pile of neon-green goo with bones and gristle in it. The Lasat looked up and saw that the leader was leaping to another tree and then disappeared with the surviving smaller one. He saw the alien helmet laying near the remains and picked it up hoping to use it in some way.

"Ha!" Zeb said as he took a deep breath and cradled his broken arm, "Mess with a former captain of the Honor Guard, will ya? Keep coming back and I'll kill you both! Oh...Karabast!"

He walked over to lean against a big rock and looked down at his broken arm. The bone was trying to poke through the fur and he knew that it needed to be set. Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, Zeb took his arm and slammed it hard against the rock the bone snapping back in place. The Lasat let out a loud cry of pain and tears fell as he cradled the injured limb against his body. Ashla who had been hiding during the skirmish, came out from her hiding place and lay at Zeb's feet purring in comfort.

"Ashla...I've got to get this arm taken care of," he said to the animal, "At least I got another one of their weapons."

Zeb took two smaller branches from the shrubs and made a splint and then after removing what was left of his jumpsuit, he tore the material into pieces and tied the splints in place and made a makeshift sling to hold his arm close to his body. He looked down at his naked bottom half and frowned. He took what remained of the jumpsuit and made a bandage for the new cut on his leg. Zeb sat on the river side and stared down at the small piece of material left of his jumpsuit. He took some of the tree root rope and made a belt of sorts to tie around his waist and with the wrist knives cut some slits into the material where he wove the rope through making himself a smaller covering that at least covered up everything that would normally show. He was relieved that the front half was well covered, but his butt was exposed making him blush with embarrassment. He smiled and chuckled thinking about what Ezra and Sabine would think of his rather revealing wardrobe. They would never let him hear the end of it! He also knew that Rex would tease him badly and Kallus would just laugh himself almost sick. Thinking about his family made him sad for a moment and he nearly gave into tears, but knew he had to keep moving. Leaning on a tree branch he had made into a spear, the Lasat began to walk away and towards the raft that waited for him.

"Hope this thing can hold my weight," he grumbled as he helped Ashla aboard. After making sure that the ropes were holding, he pushed off with his good arm and secured the provisions he had packed aboard. Sitting down, Zeb let himself rest and hopefully he could get some sleep for awhile. This last battle with the hunters had worn him out, and with his new injuries, he was in bad shape. The little vessel moved along the river and Zeb layed down closing his eyes.

Ashla licked his face waking him up a few hours later. The wind had picked up and the raft continued it's journey down the river. Zeb sat up, yawned and looked around to see that he had traveled quite a distance. The jungle had gotten thicker and the air more humid. Zeb kept wiping his forehead ridges of sweat, the fur getting more musky in scent. Standing up and cradling his broken arm, the Lasat stared ahead having no idea what would happen next...

On Yavin IV:

Ayessa knealt in front of the rock near the waterfall, her prayer stone on top. She was in a deep meditation and didn't hear Ezra and Sabine walk up. The two younger rebels stood off at a respectable distance and listened to her chant in her native Barrelian tongue, the words almost musical in tone. Being telepathic, she soon sensed Ezra and Sabine nearby and turned to them.

"Ayessa," Sabine said feeling embarrassed at interrupting what was obviously a sacred moment, "We're sorry we disturbed you. We just had to get away from everybody for awhile ."

"It is all right, young ones," she said and turned to them a smile on her beautiful features, "I was praying for the safe return of Garazeb."

"You love Zeb, don't you?" Sabine asked feeling even more embarrassed. She looked over at Ezra and saw that he was reaching out to Ayessa and felt her deep feelings for the Lasat.

"Yes, I do. I know he isn't a Barrelian, but I care deeply for him, and have since the day I met him. I want him to return to me so I can show him how much I do care."

"What do you see in him?" Ezra asked as he felt himself react to the sight of her tall and curvy body. Her face with it's bright golden eyes was a thing of beauty, "You are so...beautiful and Zeb is...not exactly handsome."

Sabine gave him an elbow in the ribs for his less than cordial remark.

"We Barrelians being telepathic beings can see beyond the physical senses. The first time I met Garazeb, I gazed into his green eyes and saw into his soul. Seeing that side of Garazeb has shown me how attractive is really is. Does that answer your question?"

Blushing, Ezra nodded, feeling bad for thinking of Zeb as being unattractive.

"There is a beauty in every living being, Ezra," she said laying a hand on the shorter human's shoulder, "When I gaze into your eyes and Sabine's, I see two wonderful young people who are good, brave and above all compassionate. When I gazed into Garazeb's eyes, I saw the same thing and more. I see beauty...beauty of the spirit and that goes beyond the physical realm. If he returns, I want to join minds with him and we will be bondmates. "

Ezra saw that Ayessa was trying not to cry and he layed a hand on her arm.

"We'll find Zeb, won't we Sabine?"

The Mandalorian girl nodded her head and also patted Ayessa on the shoulder.

"We sure will, and we won't give up until he's safely back home."

Ayessa smiled and turned back to her altar to kneel down. She gazed over and saw that Ezra and Sabine were kneeling beside her. The Barrelian female went back to her chanting and soon the two rebels followed along, not understanding the strange words, but felt the love within them. Ayessa concentrated and with her telepathic powers, reached out past Yavin IV and out into space, hoping to make a connection with her sycha. She smiled as she reached further than she ever had before and hoped to touch the Lasat's mind.

On the jungle planet:

Zeb lay asleep on the raft while it moved through the slow current. Ashla lay curled up next to him nuzzling her snout against his face. As he sunk deeper into sleep, he felt something in his mind almost like a tickle.

It was Ayessa's telepathic touch.

Zeb sighed and rolled over onto his back, broken arm across his chest. A smile crossed the Lasat features and he sighed louder feeling Ayessa's presence in his mind. It was a soothing feeling but also a little erotic. Letting out a louder sigh, Zeb placed his other arm across the injured one in the gesture of a hug. That's what it felt like to the Lasat; an embrace of pure love from Ayessa across the galaxy.

"Ayessa," he whispered and fell into a deeper sleep to dream about being in her arms for real...


	6. Chapter 6 Continuing Survival

A/N: Zeb still is two paces ahead of the hunters, but is starting to suffer from his injuries, lack of sleep, and malnutrition. Being an adult Lasat of 2.1 meters in height and muscular, he isn't getting the proper balance of food to sustain him. At least he has a large supply of water near to keep him from getting dehydrated. Homesickness is also plaguing him along with the physical maladies.

Chapter 6 Continuing Survival

Zeb woke up with a start to Ashla grabbing his left hand in her mouth and her sharp fangs were irritating his fur and skin.

"What the!?" he cried out and sat up seeing that the raft had stopped up against the shoreline of the river and he was now in a small cove of sorts. He turned around and beginning to bat Ashla away from him, he saw something that took his breath away.

There up away from the river stood a structure that looked like a stone temple covered in a coat of moss and vegetation. A large opening shone through the shadows cast from the tree canopy and he could see a shaft of sunlight shining on what looked like a rock slab. Grunting with a bit of pain, Zeb got up and carefully stepped off the raft onto the grassy shore. He stretched his muscles to get the kinks out and adjusted his makeshift splint and sling grimacing against a wave of pain through the broken limb. Ashla had run ahead of him and went inside the ruined building. Taking a deep breath, the Lasat followed his furry companion into the structure.

"Ashla!" he called to the animal, "Don't wander off! Who knows what could be inside there!"

He started to move towards the rock slab when Ashla came running with what looked like a bone in her mouth. Zeb bent down to examine his friend's new prize and shuddered seeing it was the leg bone of what seemed like a human's.

"Karabast, Ashla! Give me that thing! Where did you find this?"

He took the bone out of the creature's mouth and looked at it closer and discovered that it wasn't a human leg bone but one of a humanoid creature.

"Ashla, where did you get this?"

The furry animal grabbed ahold of the bottom of his loincloth pulling it down exposing his naked body.

"Ashla!" he cried out pulling the thin material back up the best he could, "You do realize that this is the only thing covering me, don't you?"

The furry creature just stared at him with her big green eyes and her fluffy tail wagged with affection. She ran off into the darker interior of the structure and he was glad for his excellent Lasat vision in dark places. The animal stopped near a wall and layed down on what appeared to be furred blankets of some kind. Zeb bent down and picked up the blankets to reveal the skeletal remains of two humanoids.

"KARABAST!" he screamed out jumping back in terror. He soon got his fear under control to examine the remains more and saw that the skeletons were similar to human but had three fingered hands and three toed feet. At first Zeb thought they were the remains of two Trandoshans but the skulls were human like, not reptilian. Ashla curled up next to the skeletons and gnawed on a leg bone. Zeb shuddered for a moment but let her keep it. He lifted up the blankets with his good hand and saw they were a bit threadbare but would cover him better than his loincloth. Sitting down near Ashla, he took his right foot and left hand tearing the blanket into smaller strips. Zeb was relieved that being a Lasat his prehensile feet acted like an extra pair of hands and with his broken arm, he needed the use of another hand. Using the hunter knives in the wrist gauntlet, he tore enough material to make a bigger loincloth that not only covered his front part, but his butt as well. Having the thicker material felt warmer and less embarrassing for anyone to see, even though Ashla was the only one around.

After getting his new wardrobe made, Zeb got up to explore what he had decided was a temple of some kind. He found out that the area he was in wasn't the structure's main room. Venturing further into the structure, Zeb found several chambers that looked like living quarters for the people who once lived there. He found more of the furred blankets, remnants of stone pottery, wood utensils, animal skeletons, and the most important thing he found was some pieces of stone he recognized as flint that could be used to start a fire. He was shivering as he explored and knew he might be developing an infection from his injuries and exposure to the elements. Zeb knew that if he started a fire that the hunters could find him, but he needed to get warm and there was enough pieces of wood scattered around the temple that he could get a good fire going to warm up on and cook some meat. He also found some tooka root growing in the cracks of the walls and from his survival training, he knew that the root had medicinal properties and the leaves could be made into a tea.

When the sky darkened from an oncoming storm, Zeb sat wrapped in a furred blanket around a small fire and was chewing on a piece of an animal that Ashla had caught running around the interior of the structure. It was the size of an aak dog and would keep him in food for about a week or more. Remembering more survival techniques, the Lasat hung some of the meat pieces up to dry out and hoped they wouldn't rot. Another fruit was found, but Zeb didn't try any, remembering how sick he got with eating too many of the tree fruits.

As night approached, a stormfront moved in with flashes of lightning and loud rumbles of thunder. Ashla shivered in fear from the loud noise and cuddled up on Zeb's lap, hiding her head against his chest.

"Oh, it's okay, girl," he soothed stroking her large furry ears, "It's just a storm and we're safe inside this temple. See? Nothing will harm you as long as I'm around. Why don't we try and get some shuteye. I feel really tired and a bit sick. Let me get the blanket wrapped around us..."

While Zeb and Ashla slept curled up next to a warm fire, the two surviving hunters hunkered down in a makeshift shelter miles away and plotted their next move against the Lasat. They gnawed and big pieces of an animal like Ashla and trilled softly hoping for more success in the morning. Zeb was a wiley one and they knew that the Lasat wouldn't go down without a fight. Knowing he had some of their weaponry gave them pause and they knew he would fight to the death. They had to find a way to weaken the Lasat's defenses and then remembered that he had broken an arm in the last battle.

Activating the controls on their other arm gauntlet, the two hunters studied the Lasat's physical characteristics and watched recordings of his last several attacks against them. They noticed that their prey was losing weight and he was becoming weaker but was still a formidable foe. They had to somehow cut off his food supply, but how? Zeb seemed to be able to live off the land as easily as they could. The leader growled now realizing that Zeb's military training had included survival techniques and that was what kept him alive...for now. They had to step up their attacks and make them more aggressive.

During the night, Zeb began to run a fever from the deep cut festering on his right leg. He tossed and turned in a fevered delerium and called out for Hera and Kanan. He woke up and saw they weren't there and that made him feel very homesick and alone. Ashla nuzzled his feverish face and purred trying to calm him down for the Lasat was now in tears. Zeb curled up into a fetal position and sobbed through the night until exhaustion won out and he fell asleep to dream about the hunters coming after him and killing Ashla right in front of him. That upset him more and the tears just kept on coming.

With thunder still rumbling in the distance, Zeb woke up to find Ashla was gone and he panicked thinking the hunters had taken her away from him and killed her. A loud grunting sounded near the now cold fire and he saw the animal cleaning her wet paws seeing she had been outside. Seeing him awake, the animal went over to nuzzle against him. Zeb hugged her close several tears falling down his cheeks.

"Ashla! " he said his voice heavy with emotion, "Don't do that again! I thought I lost you!"

The furry creature nuzzled his face and licked the tears away as they fell. She began to purr in a soothing manner and Zeb calmed down. He wrapped the blanket around him, and now feeling a little better he could think more clearly. Zeb knew that the temple could not only provide shelter for him and Ashla, but also could be protection for them from the hunters. He could set up booby traps near the entrance and around the perimeter of the structure.

He walked down to the side of the river and was relieved to see that the raft was still tied up to a tree and all his makeshift weapons were still intact. Grabbing the spears, sling and sharp rocks, Zeb walked back up to the temple and sat on a rock outside the entrance to take inventory of what he had to work with. He looked around at the damp vegetation and saw that there were vines of various thickness hanging from the trees and also some bushes with long thorns on their stalks.

For the rest of the morning and into the afternoon, Zeb made himself more weapons and also set up several traps around the temple. One of the traps consisted of a big branch tied to a tree trunk that could be released from within the interior of the temple. When released, the branch would come down to hit one of the hunters in the head hopefully hard enough to not only knock it out, but also to kill. Zeb took some of the thorns that were very sharp and had a sap on the tips that he hoped were poisonous, and placed them in a line on a smaller branch attached to another vine. Probably the best trap he made was partly constructed. It was a large and deep hole near the temple entrance that he almost fell in. He had placed four sharpened sticks at the bottom and covered the top with smaller branches and vegetation disguising the hole.

By nightfall he finished and was glad, for his cut leg was hurting badly and was oozing with pus. Zeb knew it was infected and he had to open up the cut to clean it out and then cauterize the wound. The thought of what he had to do made him cringe but he knew if he didn't do anything, he could develop gangrene in the leg and die.

Around a fire that had hot coals, Zeb unwrapped the bandage to look at the wound and his green eyes widened in shock. Around the cut were swollen patches of fur and skin, the wound red and oozing a bloody pus. He swallowed hard and his bottom lip quivered as he knew what he had to do. He took some of the tooka root and placed it in his mouth to chew into a soft paste that he could pack around the cut and bandage it after getting cleaned out and cauterized. Ashla sat beside him and nuzzled her head against his leg.

Whimpering softly, Zeb activated the alien knives and held them over the hot coals to sterilize them before opening the cut more. He felt tears beginning to fall and he didn't try to stop them. After heating the knives to the right temperature, Zeb took them out of the fire and sucking in his breath he plunged the tips into the oozing wound. Zeb shut his eyes and bit his bottom lip so hard that he felt blood on his tongue. He opened his eyes and taking a deep breath, he began to clean out the wound having to blink the tears away. Ashla sat nearby and purred in comfort. Zeb continued to clean the cut and then placed the wrist knives back into the coals to warm them back up. A little later, he took them back out and he bit down on a stick that he placed in his mouth. He layed the knives across his leg over the cut and heard as the fur began to burn and the skin underneath. Zeb cried out the stick muffling the sound and tears streamed from his closed eyes. After a few moments, he pulled the knives away and looked down at the singed fur smelling the odor of burned flesh and fur. Sobbing convulsively, Zeb grabbed the tooka root poultice and placed it over the burned cut and then wrapped the injury back up. He leaned back and wailed in pain, his good hand over his eyes and then fell unconscious onto the temple floor, his body having reached it's limit of pain. Ashla emitted a purr of comfort and curled her furry body up next to her big companion licking the tears from his cheeks. Zeb would be out for hours and Ashla would not leave his side...


	7. Chapter 7 Training and Rescue Plans

A/N: In this chapter I go back to Yavin IV and the rest of Zeb's family, showing how worried they are about him and are going to search for him no matter what Rebel Command says! Kanan, in the meantime, will be helping Leka with how to use the Force in a positive way. Ezra also will help and will become a close friend with the young Lasat. Warning for mature content.

Chapter 7 Training and Rescue Plans

Lekaryta Pauen sat cross-legged by the waterfall on Yavin IV. Kanan Jarrus was with him helping to hone his Force powers. The young Lasat proved to be a difficult student and Kanan knew it was because of his Lasat temperment.

"Leka, close your eyes, take a deep breath and let the Force flow through you," Kanan said to his student, "Try and levitate that small rock over by the waterfall."

Leka eased his breathing and sat up straighter, placed his clawed hands on his knees and let his mind go blank. The rock began to rise and soon was hovering above the water. Kanan, even blind could "see" that the Force-sensitive Lasat was doing well until...

"No!" Leka cried out, his green eyes wide with fear, "Captain Orrelios!"

The rock fell to the water with a loud splash that startled Kanan.

"Leka," the blind Jedi said in an annoyed tone, "Try again."

"I'm sorry, Kanan, but I saw something in my mind! I saw Captain Orrelios and he's injured...maybe dying! We have to find him!"

Kanan walked over and sat down beside the young Lasat seeing that he was very upset about something he saw in a Force vision. He remembered Ezra having Force visions of his parents before he knew their fate and they had upset him like Leka was reacting now. Kanan knew he had to help Leka but it was hard as this Lasat who was no more than a child, was not only stubborn but strong-willed.

"Leka," he said laying a hand on the youngster's shoulder, "Tell me what you saw."

Leka blinked his eyes that now were full of tears and told his mentor what he saw.

"Captain Orrelios is on a jungle planet...and he's injured! I saw four aliens like the ones Ele and I saw on Nar Shaddaa hunting him down like he is a wild animal! They hurt him, Kanan! They...hurt him!"

The young Lasat put his hands over his face and Kanan saw his shoulders shaking and knew that Leka was probably crying. Force visions were very upsetting to the individual, and especially for a new Force user like Leka. He figured the young Lasat had enough for one day.

"We...We have to help him!" Leka said past his hands. Kanan saw tear streaks on the purple fur of his cheeks. He reached over to place an arm around Leka's shoulders in a comforting manner. That always worked for Ezra and he hoped it would work for Leka as well.

"Leka, Force visions are just that...visions and nothing else. It doesn't mean that something has happened to Zeb. Hera and I are going to begin a search for him and I need your help to find him. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes," Leka said wiping the last of his tears away and stood up feeling a bit foolish for crying in front of the Jedi, "I'm sorry, I don't usually get so...emotional about stuff, but this scared me. This whole Force thing scares me."

"Leka, you won't go through this alone. You have me, Ezra and the rest of the family."

Leka smiled at the word "family". It had been a long time that he felt like part of a family except for Ele and Burley. He turned at the sound of his beautiful bondmate walking up the path and she saw his damp cheeks. She went over and gave the young Lasat a hug around the waist since she was alot shorter than him. Leka leaned into her embrace and felt calmer.

When they returned to the main base, Hera was preparing the evening meal for the family inclusing Rex, Kallus, Ele and Leka. The maternal Twi'lek saw that Leka appeared to have been crying and her heart went out to him.

"Kanan, how did Leka's training go today?" she asked giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"I thought Ezra was a tough student to teach, but Leka is proving me otherwise," Kanan answered, "I almost feel like I'm training a younger version of Zeb."

"Give him time, love," Hera added, "Leka hasn't had the training like you or Ezra had and it will be harder for him. Remember, Kanan, Leka is a Lasat and his temperment will be different than a human's. Also remember this, Leka is not Zeb. He is a boy...a Lasat boy that has abilities that he doesn't know how to use and is afraid of. He'll come around, after all, Ezra did."

"You're right as always, Hera. I think seeing Leka reminds me of Zeb being gone and how much I miss the big guy. Leka had a Force vision about Zeb being hunted by aliens and being injured...maybe in a bad way. We need to search for him...and bring him home. Ayessa won't forgive us if we don't bring him home."

Hera smiled at the mention of the Barrelian female that had taken a strong interest in their resident Lasat the past few months. She remembered seeing how Ayessa would look at him and taking walks with him around the base, showed her that the bond was growing between the two. They were definitely an odd couple but she knew that Zeb liked her too.

"Speaking of Ayessa," Hera said, "Have you seen her around?"

"She's over by the waterfall, sitting in front of her Barrelian prayer stone," Sabine said as she brought Hera some vegetables, "She spends alot of time there, in meditation or prayer. I think she really loves Zeb."

"She does, and her love is strong," Kanan said reaching out with the Force to feel the strong emotions of love the tall Barrelian beauty was broadcasting.

The object of their concern was kneeling in front of her prayer stone and was chanting for the safe return of her "sycha" as she now claimed Zeb as. She was now more determined than ever to help in the search for the lost Lasat so she should declare her love for him. Closing her eyes, Ayessa imagined Zeb kneeling beside her and looking into his luminous green eyes seeing the brave and loving soul within their depths. She remembered their walks to the waterfall and how the Lasat liked to hold her hand as they walked. Being a non-telepath, Zeb showed his affection by touch. The hand-holding had sparked a feeling in her she had never felt before: seduction.

At dinner that night, she would find out that her sycha's family was finally going to search for him and she wanted to go with them. She sat picking at her food wanting to feel Zeb's presence next to her and his hand holding hers. Ayessa sat listening to Kanan, Hera, Rex and Kallus discuss the search parameters with each other and she looked over to see that Ezra and Sabine were becoming annoyed as they found out that they weren't coming along. She stole glances over at Leka and Ele seeing the young couple with equally annoyed looks on their faces. They weren't allowed to go either.

"Hey!" Ezra called out his face in a frown, "Why can't Sabine, Ele, Leka and I go along with you to help search for Zeb? We're his family too!"

"Ezra, this could be a very dangerous mission and the four of you are..." Kanan began to say.

"Too young," Sabine finished her brown eyes flashing with anger, "Maybe we're young, but we've had more experience at dangerous missions than half the people at this rebel base!"

"Sabine," Hera said in her maternal tone, "I know you and Ezra have experience at missions, but this is different. We're dealing with alien beings we have never encountered before and they are dangerous."

"My people have had alot of encounters with these beings," Ele added and looked over to see Leka frowning.

"No," Kanan said in a firm tone, "The four of you are staying here on Yavin IV and that's final!"

Ezra frowned and Sabine stamped her foot in anger. Ele flashed her teeth in a Dathomirian sneer and Leka growled deep in his throat, his green eyes narrowed with anger.

Ayessa sat watching the exchange between her young friends and with her telepathic abilities, she sensed the anger fueled by fear projecting through. The four youngsters were beginning to add a comment when a stern look from Hera stopped them.

"You kids have enough to do while we're gone," she said in mother mode, "Ezra, you and Sabine promised Kanan and I that you would clean the PHANTOM II's exhaust ports and clean the carbon scoring off the hull. That still needs to be done. Ele, you and Leka agreed to help Alexandr with deciphering those coded messages from the other Fulcrum agents. Now you have the time to do it while we're gone."

The Dathomirian girl's face went from anger to an expression of worry. Leka's Lasat features went from anger to outright sadness. The young Lasat's bottom lip was in a real pout getting Hera and Kanan to smile as it was the same look Zeb would get on his face when Hera or Kanan got after him about something. They both felt bad at leaving the two rebels and Fulcrum agents behind but knew that rescuing Zeb could get dangerous and they didn't want to endanger the youngsters.

Kanan, Hera, Rex and Kallus finished with getting the GHOST ready for the rescue and went to retire for the night. Rex and Kallus tried to curb their anxiety by a game of Sabacc, while Kanan and Hera went for a walk along the waterfall. Sabine and Ezra went for a walk to get their tempers cooled off and ended up near some other temple ruins. Leka and Ele walked down another path not far from Ezra and Sabine. The young couple stopped by a small stream that flowed from the ruins of an ancient statue. They sat down near the stream and held each other close.

"Leka, why does everyone that is older than us, treat us like children?" Ele asked as she snuggled close to her Lasat bondmate feeling secure in his arms.

"I don't know," the young Lasat answered nuzzling his face against Ele's, "Kanan treats me like I'm the same age as Ezra. I'm two years older!"

"I know, It's because we are close to their ages and remind them of how young we are," Ele answered looking up at him and caressing his furry cheeks.

Leka smiled as he felt her slim fingers on his fur. He bent his head to give her a tender kiss on the lips. She sighed at his touch and leaned closer to him.

"That's nice," she said softly and reached up to give him a kiss back hoping for more. She felt Leka's response to her kiss and he pulled her closer.

Ele turned around to face Leka and reached back to undo her halter top letting it fall to her waist. Leka's smile showed that he was pleased at seeing her bare tatooed breasts and he reached a finger over to caress one seeing her smile.

"Leka, mate with me..." she whispered and began to undo his tunic to run her hands over his furry chest that was growing warm with arousal. His smile grew and he pulled her close feeling her skin growing warm with arousal too. Ele reached down to open Leka's pants to ready him for a mating ritual. She smiled seeing he was ready and willing. The young Lasat male began to purr with seduction and held her closer, kissing her with alot of passion. Soon the two were mating, their sighs echoing through the jungle.

While the young couple were enjoying an intimate encounter, Ayessa sat in front of her prayer stone and closed her eyes picturing Zeb in her mind. She wanted to make sure she had a vivid picture of her sycha to remember in case he never returned.

"Garazeb," she whispered, her sultry voice shaky with emotion, "Please be safe. Please come...home...I love you."

The Barrelian female crossed her arms over her ample breasts that were covered by a thin top that exposed her muscular middle. She was showing a Barrelian female's expression of affection for her bondmate. That was usually done after the couple had joined minds but she felt emotions that she had never experienced before and it was because of her physical attraction for Zeb. She hungered to feel his hand holding hers, but this time she wanted the touch of his large soft-furred hands on her face, neck and...her breasts. When they were together, she noticed that Zeb stared alot at her body, her breasts in particular. Eyes still closed, Ayessa unfastened her top pulling the material apart, her breasts with the gold markings exposed, golden nipples reacting with a strong feeling of arousal. She ran her hands over the now sweating skin and sighed, imagining that it was Zeb touching her.

"Oh...sycha!" she moaned caressing more, "I need you!"

She opened her eyes and saw what she had done and began to cry. Beginning a prayer of forgiveness, Ayessa felt ashamed at touching her body in such a private way. It was an alien feeling and frightened her. Doing her top back up, the Barrelian female walked back to the rebel base and was relieved when she met up with Ezra and Sabine who were returning from a walk of their own. Through the Force, Ezra felt that Ayessa had been very aroused and he knew she had been thinking about Zeb. He also sensed that Leka and Ele were having themselves quite an intimate encounter of their own and he also sensed Kanan and Hera were doing the same thing.

Towards evening, Leka and Ele Pauen lay snuggled close, naked bodies drying off from post-mating sweat. They had mated several times as if it were the last time they would and it had worn them out. When darkness fell, Hera grew worried not seeing the young Fulcrum agents.

"Sabine?" Hera asked after not having any luck seeing the youngsters around, "Have you seen Leka or Ele? They've been gone a long time. I hope they didn't do anything stupid."

Ezra walked up and smiled knowing where the couple were and what they were up to.

"Hera, don't worry," he said, "They are fine and out in the jungle near those other temple ruins. They uh...are having...uh..."

Hera smiled knowing what the boy was trying to say. In so many words, Ezra was telling her that Leka and Ele were out by the ruins making love.

"It's okay, I know where they are and what they are doing. Why don't you and Sabine try and get some sleep, for tomorrow Kanan and I are leaving to rescue Zeb...and bring him home."

Ayessa lay in front of the prayer stone altar and slept. While she slept, she reached out with her telepathic abilities to Zeb and smiled as she touched his mind that she loved and earlier discovered that she craved his body too.

On the faraway jungle planet:

Zeb lay shivering with the chills of a fever as Ayessa's telepathic touch reached him. The shivers stopped and he smiled feeling the strong emotion of love behind the touch and he relaxed into a deeper sleep dreaming about mating with the beautiful Barrelian...


	8. Chapter 8 Fevered Delerium

A/N: In this chapter, Zeb is still being pursued by the hunters and his health is beginning to suffer. The Lasat's injuries are becoming infected and in turn, he is running a high fever and hallucinating. Kanan and Hera will be leaving on the GHOST to search for their friend.

Chapter 8 Fevered Delerium

Zeb lay curled up in one of the threadbare blankets in the stone temple ruins, his large body racked with the fever of a massive infection that was in his right thigh. Two days ago, the Lasat had cleaned out the bone-deep cut and cauterized it, but it still held an infection. All Zeb did now was lay curled up, shivering with chills and calling out for Kanan and Hera or sometimes Ayessa. Ashla, his little furry companion stayed by his side and curled up licking his feverish cheeks hoping to ease his discomfort.

"Kanan! Hera!" he called out as he sat up, his big green eyes glassy looking with fever. He hoped to see his two closest friends nearby and he saw they weren't.

"Help me," he whimpered and pulled the blanket closer. He stretched out his injured leg and saw that it was swollen from the knee up, the fur standing on end. A bad smell eminated from the injury and in his feverish mind, Zeb knew that he had to clean it out again. The thought of touching the tender injured flesh and fur made a pout form on his bottom lip and he whimpered more.

Slowly he got up and found he couldn't put any weight on the leg and he fell on his left side aggravating the cut on the calf of his left leg. At least that injury wasn't a bad one. It just stung alot.

"Ashla," he said to his little friend, "I...I can't stand up or walk!"

The small creature went over and nudged his arm wanting him to get up. She grabbed onto his loincloth nearly pulling it off.

"Hey! Quit that! I can't put any weight on my leg, don't you know that?!"

Ashla kept pulling on him until he resigned the fact that the creature wouldn't let him give up. With alot of difficulty, Zeb stood up and grabbed one of his long spear weapons to use as a crutch. Taking halting steps, the Lasat made his way out to the river and sat down with a groan beside it. Biting on his lower lip, Zeb unwrapped the bandage on his thigh and gasped at how bad the injury looked.

"Oh...Karabast," he said softly and removed the tooka root poultice. The smell of the infection was bad but not as bad as it looked. The fur was singed and burned from the cauterizing of it earlier and a foul-smelling pus was leaking out of the open areas. Extending his leg out into the water, Zeb gently washed off the wound, cringing at how much pain he was feeling, and lowered his leg into the water to soak it awhile. He leaned back and sighed as the cool water felt comforting on the nasty wound. Ashla came up beside him and offered comforting purrs, seeing he had tears in his eyes.

A shaft of sunlight came down upon the water and he leaned over to look at his leg and saw a reflection of his face. His normally bright green eyes were dull with fever and half closed. Dark circles were underneath his lower lids and puffy from the constant tears. The lavender fur on the top of his head and on his face was covered with dirt streaks and the darker purple stripes weren't as vibrant as they usually appeared. His nose was red around the slitted nostrils and the fur above his upper lip was covered with dirt and dried muscus. He frowned seeing that his left ear was half gone.

"Karabast, I look like something a Rancor chewed on and spat out!" he said a crooked grin on his face. That got a chuckle out of him until he felt a pain in his broken arm. He adjusted the splint and leaned back to continue soaking his leg.

After an hour, Zeb dragged his leg out of the water, chewed some tooka root to a paste and placed a new poultice on the cut. He rebandaged the injury and limped his way back up to the temple ruins to try and rest. Just walking to the river had worn him out and he knew it was because he was getting weaker. Ashla followed him inside and watched as he sat on his makeshift bed of fur blankets and chewed on some dried meat from an animal they had caught earlier. He layed down and fell asleep to dream about being home with his family. The dream was so vivid that he shot up on the fur blanket hoping to see his family. All he saw was the dank, dark walls of the temple ruins. At that moment, Zeb felt extremely homesick and alone.

"Hera! Kanan!" he called out his deep voice echoing through the ruins, "Help me..."

All he heard was the gentle purring of Ashla beside him. Zeb clutched the blanket closer and raised his head to stare at the ceiling. Tears blurred his vision and he sucked in his breath in a sob.

"Hera...Kanan..." he whimpered as the tears began to fall, "Help me, please."

He sat sniffling when he didn't hear the maternal voice of Hera, or the calm tones of Kanan's voice. That caused the Lasat to break down and cry. He raised his head again and wailed at the top of his lungs. If anyone were nearby, they would've thought it were a child crying, not a former Lasan Honor Guardsman. The sound was sad, pitiful and above all heart wrenching.

"Hera...Kanan...!" he sobbed hugging the blanket closer and began to rock back and forth, the fever going up from his emotional outburst, "H...Hera! K...Kanan! I wanna go home!"

The wailing grew louder and he fell over to curl up as best as he could with the injured leg. He kept on with the crying that changed from wailing to just a loud sobbing that made Ashla come over to lay beside him licking each tear as it fell. In her own way she was trying to show Zeb that he wasn't alone.

"I wanna go home!" he kept sobbing over and over again for the next several hours until he cried himself to sleep with total exhaustion.

On Yavin IV:

The GHOST was ready to leave for her search of Zeb. Kanan and Hera argued with high command but they insisted on searching for the lost Lasat no matter what. They got permission to leave on one condition; if they didn't find Zeb within a week, they were to return to Yavin IV, no questions asked.

Kanan and Hera didn't care how long it would take to find the Lasat. He was family and family meant more to them than any mission or commands.

Ezra and Sabine still insisted on coming along but were told no. Leka and Ele also wanted to help but because they were young like the two rebels, they were also told no.

"Leka," Kanan said to his newest student, "Ezra will help you with your Jedi training until I come back. Sabine can help too."

"But...you need my help in locating Captain Orrelios," the young Lasat said his bottom lip in an almost pout. Kanan had to smile for that look reminded him of Zeb.

"No buts about it, young one," he said with an air of authority, "You are not trained enough and need more time. Don't worry, we'll be back and with Zeb."

Ele gave Hera and Kanan a kiss goodbye and shook Kallus' and Rex's hands to see them off. Ezra and Sabine gave all four hugs and they looked nearly ready to cry. Leka chose to give Hera a hug and also Kanan knowing that a Jedi student wasn't supposed to show outward affection but he didn't care. In the short time he had known Kanan, he thought of the older human male as a father figure, like Ezra did. Ele even thought of Kanan and also Hera as surrogate parents. She hoped they'd be okay. Ayessa stood back as her friends said goodbye.

"May the Barrelian gods go with you and protect you," she said as she gave them each a quick hug, "Bring my sycha home."

"We will, Ayessa," Hera said hugging the much taller woman back, "Don't worry so. Zeb is a tough Lasat and has been through some rough times and came through just fine."

Ayessa nodded and offered a silent prayer for Zeb's health and safe return to her so they could be joined in a Barrelian mind meld. This was similar to a human marriage. She also wanted to feel his hand in hers and also more of his touch.

The four youngsters watched as the GHOST took off and they blinked back tears, praying silently to any gods they believed in, and Ayessa stood with her arms crossed over her chest in a gesture of love...

Four days passed and Zeb awoke, his fever having broken during his slumber and the swelling was going down on the cut. Due to his Lasat physiology, he was beginning to heal and with the help of his first aid techniques, Zeb was on his way to getting better. He sat up on his makeshift bed and rubbed his eyes that felt like grit were in them. He looked around for Ashla and didn't see her.

"Ashla!" he called hoping nothing happened to his little companion.

A familiar grunting sounded and the furry creature crawled out from under a blanket that was laying in a corner. Zeb watched as she shredded the blanket with her sharp claws and appeared to be building a nest of some kind. Zeb also noticed that a distinct swelling was on Ashla's stomach.

"Hey Ashla," he said gesturing her to come over to him, "Are you getting fat? Because I know I'm not! "

Ashla turned over and Zeb saw that something was moving within the animal's body.

"Well, I'll be!" he said a smile on his face, "Ashla, you're pregnant, aren't you?"

His answer came in an affectionate lick to his furry face, making him forget his troubles for a moment.

"Guess I'll be an uncle of sorts," he said hugging the creature close. Ashla stepped up her licking getting him to double over with laughter, the sound echoing through the temple ruins. Their happiness was soon shattered when a sound outside made Zeb stand up in a stance of protection. The leg was still weak but better and he could now put weight on it. Grabbing a spear and his sling, he walked outside to confront the surviving hunters who were standing down by the river and a vicious smile crossed the Lasat's face. He saw that one of the hunters was standing close to one of his booby traps and he kicked at a stick with a vine tied to it.

The branch with the thorns on it came down and struck the younger hunter on the left arm and it cried out in pain.

"Ha! Serves you right, for trespassing!" the Lasat cried out and climbed onto a huge boulder to stand up and face the hunters, "Come and get me you karking pieces of bantha poodoo!"

The younger hunter growled and pulled the thorns out of it's arm and green blood leaked from the puncture wounds. Zeb's grin deepened and he stood up straighter hoping that he looked threatening enough. His thinner physique wasn't too convincing, but the raw anger in his eyes was.

The older and more experienced hunter pushed a button on his wrist gauntlet and disappeared. Growling, the younger one soon followed suit, angry at not killing it's prey...finally.

Zeb heaved a sigh of relief and sat down on the boulder his breathing easing up some. He knew that the hunters would be back and he was ready for them.

After the hunters left, they stopped to rest for a moment and the leader activated it's hologram device on one of the wrist gauntlets. An image of Zeb in his newer loincloth and armed with the wrist knives and assorted other weapons appeared, and a furry creature sitting next to his prehensile feet. The image grew larger in length and zeroed in on Ashla. They knew that their prey had formed a bond with the small animal and knew if they killed it, it would put the Lasat in a beserker rage of grief. They would get their trophy now...


	9. Chapter 9 Loss of A Friend

A/N: In this chapter, Zeb is going to experience something that will shake him to the core of his soul. He will be getting the upper hand on the alien hunters with defeating the last of the younger ones. Soon it will be Zeb versus the hunter leader...Warning for a bit of graphic violence

Chapter 9 Loss of a Friend

Zeb built more booby traps around the area knowing the hunters would be back. He was beginning to feel better and the nasty cut on his right thigh was starting to heal. However, he was still losing weight even though he had a fairly steady diet of meat and a root he found growing near the temple ruins. He tried some of the fruits and they upset his stomach so he just stuck to the meat and roots. Ashla still stayed by his side and she was showing signs that she was close to her delivery time.

"Could be any day now, right girl?" Zeb asked cradling the animal on his lap. She just nuzzled his bearded chin and gave him a sloppy kiss right on the mouth.

"Yuck!" he grumbled, "Ashla! That was uncalled for!"

The furry animal just purred and nuzzled closer, with Zeb feeling the life inside her moving. Feeling better, he decided to go down to the river to bathe realizing he smelled worse than ever. Ashla crawled off his lap and followed him down to the water. Taking inventory of his surroundings, Zeb walked down to the side of the river and started to remove his worn chest and back armor.

"Sheesh!" he grumbled seeing the condition of it, "They'd drum me out of the Honor Guard if I looked like this!"

Ashla in reply, nuzzled his leg and shook her head as if offended by the smell.

"Okay, girl, I can take a hint. I do need a bath!"

After setting the armor down on the grass, he slid out of his loincloth, then removed the makeshift bandages on his two leg wounds and the one on his side. He chose to keep the splints on his arm since the fracture was still tender. The Lasat waded into the shallow part near where the raft was tied up. He squatted down to splash water on his face with his left arm and then waded out farther grimacing a bit at the cool water hitting the cuts. The pain didn't last long and he leaned back to float on his back, sighing as the water soaked into his fur. Ashla waded out and swam to where he was at and he lifted her onto his chest.

"Should you be swimming in your condition?"

She just licked his face making him laugh. Hearing him laugh made her lick his face more, getting him to giggle like a child. Finally he had to stop and catch his breath. After splashing around for a few more minutes, Zeb got out of the water and layed out in the sun so his fur could dry off. He checked the cuts on his legs and side seeing they were doing okay and he rebandaged them. The splint, even though wet, was still in place and he didn't bother to replace the wood pieces. Zeb tried to move the limb a little bit and even though it still hurt alot, he knew it was healing and hopefully would be as good as new.

"Well, Ashla," he said to his furry companion, "I guess I wear the splint a little longer. Lucky I'm a Lasat and heal a little faster than a human would with a broken arm. Karabast, thing still smarts!"

He went over to stretch out on the grass again to rest and fell asleep. While he slept, Ashla went back into the temple ruins and to her nest she had built. The furry creature began to pant and lick at her lower regions where the fur parted to reveal bright pink skin, her birth canal. The area began to pulsate and she layed down as the birth began...

Zeb woke up to a strange mewling sound and it was coming from inside the ruins. Still naked, he walked back inside and let his pointed ears guide him to the mewling sound. When he found the source, he smiled and a chuckle escaped him.

"Ashla, you're a mama!" he said squatting down to see the newborn, "You have a little kit that looks just like you!"

The newborn made a little squeeky sound and then began to suckle for nourishment, making Zeb smile more.

"Guess I'm an uncle now!"

He sat down and reached over to pet Ashla and her kit, the adult animal letting him. After watching the new little family, Zeb got back up to walk outside to check on his traps again, getting a feeling that the hunters weren't too far away. He walked the parimeter of the temple his pointed ears listening for any sign of the aliens. Zeb got to work stretching some vine strands to make a bow and arrow combo. Without the full use of his right arm, Zeb used his left arm and left foot to make the primitive weapon and made sure that the vine strands didn't snap when he strung it on the wooden bow. Earlier, he had made some arrows out of small branches and sharpened the ends to a fine point, using the razor sharp alien knives. Standing up he tried it out and to his delight, the handmade arrow went deep into a tree.

"Hah!" he said a crooked grin on his face, "Not bad if I say so myself!"

A grunting made him turn and he saw Ashla walk out.

"Hey? Where's your kit?"

Ashla, as if she understood him, turned to look back into the temple entrance.

"Oh, taking a nap, eh? That's good. I'm just making us more weapons if those kriffin' hunters decide to come around again."

The furry animal crawled onto his lap and nuzzled into a ball to fall asleep. Zeb looked down at her and smiled, and remembered that he was still naked and gently as not to disturb Ashla, he got up, set her on the ground and walked over to where his loincloth and armor lay on the ground near the water. After getting redressed, the Lasat went back to finish with the bow and arrows, finishing with placing them in a quiver he made out of dried tree bark. Ashla still lay sleeping and with the quiver over his left shoulder, he carried the animal back inside the temple.

Yawning, Zeb carried Ashla over to her nest setting her down near her newborn. Realizing how fatigued he still was, Zeb stretched out on his own makeshift bed to try and have a nap. He no sooner closed his eyes when his ears perked up to a sound from outside.

The hunters were back.

Snarling, Zeb got up, pet Ashla and her kit on their heads, and walked out to confront the aliens. The Lasat grabbed the bow and arrows and a spear he hung over his back. He activated the wrist knives and took on the stance of a veteran of the Lasan High Honor Guard.

"Back for more, eh boys?" he said his deep voice in a menacing tone.

The two hunters took on battle stances of their own. With a roar, the younger alien charged Zeb and lashed out with it's own wrist knives. The Lasat easily dodged the attack and lashed out getting the bigger creature across the right leg. It cried out in pain and went after Zeb again but missed.

"Getting sloppy, are we?" Zeb asked his mouth in a grin of sarcasm, "Well, here I am! Come and get me!"

The hunter let out a roar at being taunted and activated the shoulder cannon, firing it and narrowly missing Zeb's head. He felt the fur singe from the close shot.

"Hah! Missed me!"

Roaring louder, the hunter attacked again, but this time it went after Zeb with just the wrist knives and it's bare hands. Again, the Lasat dodged the blows and climbed onto the big boulder.

"Hey, ugly! Come and get me!"

The alien roared and shot the cannon point blank at the boulder. Zeb's eyes widened and he leaped free before the rock splintered into a million pieces, the shards peppering Zeb like a million little knives.

"Karabast!" he cried out feeling many pinpricks of pain over his neck, chest and torso. He looked down seeing the dark blood seeping from the wounds. Getting wounded, just made Zeb madder and he renewed his assault.

Little to his knowledge, Ashla had come out of the temple to help protect her big furry friend. She no sooner left the entrance, when the younger hunter spotted her. With a sound almost like a laugh, the hunter aimed it's shoulder cannon at Ashla and fired, hitting the animal in the abdomen. She let out a cry that made Zeb turn to see her get shot.

"ASHLA!" he screamed and ran to her side.

From the size of the wound and the amount of blood flowing from it, Zeb knew the wound was a fatal one and she wouldn't live much longer. Tears blurring his vision, he cradled the animal in his arms and then looked up to see the younger hunter laughing, the lead hunter standing off to the side as if waiting for the fatal blow.

Zeb's big green eyes narrowed in anger and he felt a rage building up in him, the likes he had never felt before. His body began to tremble as he stood up to take out the monster who had killed his little companion. His Lasat features curled into a snarl, his fangs bared, Zeb glanced over to his left and saw the stick and vine combination that would let loose one of his more dangerous booby traps: a large tree branch with sharp sticks placed in spots to make them deadly projectiles. With a swift back kick of his left leg, Zeb activated the trap and he prayed it would work.

It did.

The log came crashing down at the hunter and smacked it dead center in the stomach and upper torso, the sharp sticks doing their damage. The force of the hit threw the creature into some bushes where it slowly got up bleeding from many deep puncture wounds. It hissed in pain, staggering to it's feet. Growling, it was more determined than ever to defeat it's prey. The lead hunter had started at seeing the log trap hit the younger one with such violence and it backed up.

Zeb seeing the creature was weakening from blood loss, charged and head-butted it in the chest knocking it to the ground, the force of the hit dislodging it's helmet from it's head. Zeb frowned seeing the alien features and he grabbed the creature's head with his muscular legs. The alien hissed in anger trying to break free but it was growing weaker.

"You killed Ashla!" Zeb cried out as he squeezed the creature's neck between his knees , his right leg throbbing with pain. The Lasat was too angry and filled with grief to notice and kept squeezing seeing the yellow eyes widening with fear and beginning to bulge out. Seeing that made Zeb squeeze harder the sound of breaking bones overpowering the creature's gasps for air. Zeb growled and with his left hand, took ahold of the dreadlock "hair" and pulled upward, the creature's gasps growing in volume, and the eyes popped out of their sockets, trailing green blood and sinew.

"This...is...for...Ashla!" Zeb cried out as he yanked upward on the dreadlocks, a sickening crack and rending sounding as the hunter's head was torn from it's body, the weird green blood gushing everywhere. Panting heavily, Zeb stood up, threw his head back to let out a loud cry of triumph and then threw the head towards the lead hunter, the creature in a state of shock at the level of violence it had just witnessed.

"Now, it's just you and me," the Lasat grumbled as he tried to get his breathing back to normal.

The taller and bigger creature began to back up and Zeb noticed it was approaching his most lethal trap, the deep hole with many sharp sticks at the bottom. With a cry of fear, the creature fell backwards into the hole and let out a scream as several sticks pierced it's right leg. Hissing in pain, it pulled the sticks free and leaped out of the hole to Zeb's surprise. He stood ready to battle the bigger hunter but it activated it's camophlage and vanished.

Panting more, Zeb fell to his knees until he heard a pain-filled whimper coming from Ashla. He turned his head seeing that his furry little friend was still clinging to life.

"Ashla," he whispered and crawled over to cradle her in his arms not caring if the blood was staining his fur. She managed a weak lick to his bearded chin, shuddered, and then breathed her last. Tears streaming down his furry cheeks, Zeb hugged the body of his companion closer as the sobs started...

After crying for several hours, Zeb got up, Ashla's body now cold in his arms. He walked over to where the boulder once stood and prepared a final resting place for the small animal that had been the only friend he had on this kriff forsaken planet. He made her a shallow grave and covered it with pieces of rock. After finishing his task, Zeb put a spear as a marker to show where his friend was buried.

"Ashla, I'm so sorry, girl. You deserve a better resting place than this," he said wiping the tears away, "They'll pay for what they did! If I die trying, I'm going to kill the last hunter! Ashla, I promise you this on my honor as a Lasat!"

A mewling from inside the temple took him away from the thoughts of vengence. It was Ashla's newborn. Sniffling, Zeb walked back in and went over to the shredded blanket nest seeing the tiny miniature of Ashla moving around trying to find it's mother.

"Oh, little kit," Zeb said as he sat down petting the tiny creature on it's head, "Your mama's...dead. You're stuck with your Uncle Zeb, and I don't have any idea how to care for you!"

The baby cried more, making Zeb's eyes tear up. He picked it up and cradled the tiny creature to his chest, hoping to calm it down. The newborn nuzzled up to his neck and began to purr softly. Thinking it was asleep, Zeb sat it back down on the blankets and not feeling his touch it began to mew again louder.

"Hey, little kit," he whispered carrying the baby back to his own bed and sat down, "I can't feed you. I...uh...don't have..."

The newborn nuzzled against his torso and began to doze off, comforted by the beating of the Lasat's heart. Looking down at the miniature of Ashla made him feel sad and the tears started again.

"I'm sorry," he said as he stroked the furry ears of black and white fur, "I couldn't save your mother, but I did get the one who killed her. Ripped the kriffin' thing's head off! I swear I'm gonna kill the lead hunter. It's the only one left! It's wounded after falling into the big hole trap."

He looked down to see that the newborn creature had fallen asleep cuddled up in the crook of his arm. Smiling through his tears, Zeb layed down, the baby not stirring. He didn't fall asleep, but kept stroking the infant's ears and head, the soft fur soothing to his frazzled nerves. A wave of sadness hit as he looked down at the slumbering newborn and the tears spilled from his green eyes and he let them fall.

"Hey, little kit, I'll never let anyone ever hurt you, like they hurt your mama. I'm here to protect you no matter what. I promise on my honor as a former captain of the Lasan Honor Guard, I will protect you, and Captain Garazeb Orrelios never goes back on his promises..."


	10. Chapter 10 Hunter Showdown

A/N: Zeb will come out a winner in this one! I hope you readers will enjoy the final battle between these two adversaries. Was fun to write! Hopefully, Zeb can find a way home on the hunter's ship...

Chapter 10 Hunter Showdown

Zeb sat outside the temple ruins finalizing the last of his homemade weapons. Just less than a week ago, he had killed the last of the younger hunters after it killed Ashla. The Lasat had literally gone mad with rage and choked the hunter between his muscular knees and then tore it's head off! Zeb never knew he was capable of such an act of violence, but losing his furry companion who he had grown very attached to, made him angry.

"Ashla," he said as he knealt down to the small rocky grave, "I will avenge your death, not only for you, but also for your kit."

A mewling interrupted him and he looked over near his pile of arrows, bow and spears, where a worn blanket lay, shredded pieces amongst it. The tiny newborn was calling to it's "surrogate parent", Zeb.

"I'm coming, little kit," he said and walked over to pick up the furry infant. It mewled sadly showing it was hungry. When Zeb cuddled it up to his chest, the infant nuzzled his chest fur sucking on it as if to nurse.

"Hey, little one," the Lasat said his cheeks red, "I...uh...don't have any...breasts for you to nurse from. I'm a male Lasat...and not even the same species as you."

The newborn nuzzled again sucking at his chest fur as if trying to nurse. Zeb knew he had to feed the tiny creature and then a thought crossed his mind. Some animals chewed food to a fine paste and fed their young. He had given the baby some water by dribbling it from his mouth to the infant, but it needed nourishment and fast!

The Lasat went back into the temple ruins and brought out a piece of dried meat that he popped into his mouth and chewed with his powerful jaws until the meat was a mushy paste. Zeb sat down on the blanket nest, picked up the whimpering newborn and pulled the chewed meat out of his mouth. He watched as the little nose twitched at the scent, then the tongue came out for a taste.

"C'mon, little kit, try it."

To his relief, the infant took the mushy mess into it's mouth and began to chew. Zeb smiled seeing that he finally got the creature eating. Sucking on his chest fur, just didn't cut it!

The rest of the day, Zeb readied the rest of his weapons and prepared to leave the safety of the temple for a final showdown with the lead hunter. The Lasat also realized that the hunter had to have a ship nearby and if it did, he'd have a way back to Yavin IV.

By nightfall, Zeb had a makeshift sachel constructed from small branches and pieces of blanket to put supplies in. He also made a sling to carry the newborn creature in. He wasn't about to leave behind Ashla's offspring, for he was the only parent the baby had now. Also the baby had begun to bond to him as if he were always it's parent.

"Let's get some sleep," Zeb said to the infant as he stretched out on a blanket, the tiny creature cuddling up to his chest, "Kriff knows where we're going tomorrow."

The next morning, Zeb awoke, gathered up his weapons and supplies, and readied to leave the temple ruins that had sheltered him for the past four months. Putting the sling over his neck and chest, he picked up the little animal and placed it so the infant could feel the beating of his heart. He found out that laying against his chest, the infant seemed calmer. Before leaving, Zeb went to stand by Ashla's grave for a final goodbye.

"Goodbye, Ashla," he said tears in his green eyes, "I will never forget you, my little furry friend. Don't worry, I will take care of your kit and I promise, that nothing will happen to the little one. Goodbye, friend, may the Ashla watch over you."

Wiping a hand across his eyes, Zeb bent down to place a hand on the rocks in a gesture of love and friendship. Then he got up to leave.

Grimacing a bit at using his partly healed broken arm, Zeb carried the satchel on his back and shoulders. Being a Lasat, he could carry twice his weight, but he knew he was weaker from losing weight and his injuries. Ashla's baby rode contented in the sling which made Zeb's job easier. Being so young, the infant slept most of the time so Zeb could walk farther.

The first night away from the temple, the weather turned and a storm rolled in. Zeb had found an old hollowed out tree that luckily the Lasat could squeeze into. The storm lasted for the night and most of the next day, Zeb getting wet, but he made sure the baby stayed warm and dry. With the wet fur, the Lasat became ill and his nose clogged up with mucus causing him to sneeze alot.

"Sorry, little Ne'Roos," he said to the baby. He had named it after his late Lasat mother. Zeb assumed the baby was a female because it looked identical to Ashla. Ne'Roos didn't seem to mind, for she snuggled close to her "Uncle Zeb".

Zeb spent another wet night inside the hollowed tree, his body racked with the chills of a fever. He barely had enough energy to feed Ne'Roos or himself. All he did was chew some Tooka root and hoped he wouldn't get sicker.

The third day of his tree exile, found Zeb able to get out and stretch and search for some water. His fever had dropped thanks to the Tooka root, while Ne'Roos just lay in her sling bed purring to her big furry "parent".

While Zeb recovered, the lead alien hunter sat inside it's ship recovering from the bad injuries to it's right leg. It had contacted another group of hunters with a distress signal and informed them that the prey had defeated him and the other three hunters. It needed help, and fast!

It had taken inventory of the weapons aboard the ship and realized that it could defeat the Lasat, but it would be a tough battle, for the Lasat was the strongest and toughest prey it had ever hunted before. Even wounded, half-starved, and sick, it's prey still prevailed. The alien admired Zeb for that and hoped that maybe a truce could be drawn up between them.

It was tired, and wanted to go home...

Zeb continued his journey after a three day rain delay and discovered that even after the rain, he could see tracks.

"Gotcha now!" he said and looked down to see Ne'Roos asleep in the sling.

For the next week, Zeb journeyed through the jungle following the faint trail left by the injured hunter. He grew stronger, the cold-like illness leaving him, and he hoped to find the elusive alien.

One day when the weather threatened to turn, Zeb found the ship. His eyes widened at the sight of the craft that was twice as big as the GHOST.

"Ne'Roos, we found him," he whispered, a grin on his face.

Zeb watched from the cover of bushes he was hiding behind and to his delight, he saw a ramp open probably to a cargo bay. The grin got bigger and he moved quietly from his hiding place.

"Ne'Roos, don't make a sound," he said to the tiny animal feeling her stir awake. Zeb let out a purr of his own and that calmed her. Slowly and silently, the Lasat made his way to the ship and open hatchway. Activating the wrist knives, he walked up into the large vessel and his eyes widened with wonder.

"Karabast," he whispered and then an odor of a gaseous kind came to his nostrils making him cough and his eyes water. It had a methane undertone and he realized this was the type of air the hunters breathed. Zeb knew that the air was lethal for himself and Ne'Roos and he had to find masks of some kind.

Looking around through watery eyes, Zeb discovered a wall with different kinds of breathing masks and he made his way over to them, his coughing growing worse. With six failed attempts, he found one that wasn't unlike the one he used on the GHOST when they were on worlds with different atmospheres.

Putting on the mask, Zeb was relieved that the filters blocked the methane and let in the oxygen he needed to breathe. He took a deep breath and looked down to see Ne'Roos gasping. Panicking, Zeb searched for a small mask and the smallest was still too large for the tiny animal.

"Ne'Roos! Karking hell!" he cried out and then saw what looked like an animal cage of clear material with an air filter on top. Nearly in tears, the Lasat gathered up Ne'Roos and put her inside the container. Immediately, her gasping stopped and her breathing eased out enough for her to begin purring.

"Thank the Ashla!" he whispered and sat down in a seat that was way too large for his body. After resting a bit, he got up to investigate more of the alien ship. He stared around amazed as he found another wall with obvious trophies of other species hanging on it.

"At least there's no Lasat there," he grumbled, "And there won't be."

A sound made him turn and he saw the hunter leader standing in the doorway of what looked like a medbay. The large creature was favoring it's right leg that was still dripping green blood. It didn't have it's helmet on and Zeb frowned seeing the more mature features than the younger hunters had. It's dreadlock-like "hair" was streaked with grey and the mandible tusks were yellowed with age and long. It had a scar across it's left eye showing it was blind on that side, spots of deep brown covered it's scaly forehead and the ridges were larger and sharper. Zeb also noticed a strange almost burn-like scar on it's forehead between it's eyes. The scar was exactly like a marking on it's helmet that hung from it's belt.

"Well...I guess it's just you and me, now," Zeb said setting Ne'Roos down and pulling an arrow out from the quiver and loading it into the bow.

The alien let out a hiss and a frown crossed it's face, making Zeb shudder for a second at how ferocious it appeared.

"Just you and me, now," it said it's voice alot deeper than Zeb's.

Zeb frowned and charged towards the creature letting out a growl that would make anyone take pause. The hunter dodged his charge and Zeb landed on the deck of the ship his mask/filter coming off. He began to choke from the air and grabbed the mask to put back on. He took a deep breath, stood up and went to charge again seeing the alien hunter was now gone.

"Karking coward!" Zeb yelled and took a sniff hoping even through the filters he could pick up the alien's decaying scent. His sensitive nose even filtered, found it. The scent was leading him outside where he hoped to confront the creature for the last time.

The alien hunter was down at the bottom of the ramp putting it's helmet back on so it could breathe the methane air of it's kind. Zeb saw it, and charged. It saw the Lasat and moved causing Zeb to land somersaulting against a rock knocking the wind out of him.

"Why you kriffin'!" the Lasat grumbled and stood up removing his mask/filter. He took a deep breath of the oxygen rich air and readied for another go at his adversary. The alien hunter took on a stance of readiness, it's one eye narrowed in anger.

"Giving me the stink eye are you?" Zeb asked, "Well...I can do better!"

Zeb's big green eyes took on a look of pure hatred and he bared his fangs in a snarl. The hunter bared it's mandible tusks that clicked together and it let out a hiss of anger.

"All right, buddy. It's just you and me now and even though you're alot bigger than me, I'm faster and almost healed up. Look at you! Your leg is still bleeding!"

That statement angered the hunter and it charged forward growling. Zeb charged to meet it head on and their heads hit with a loud sound that echoed through the trees, startling some birds. Zeb's eyes went blank for a moment and he shook his head.

"Ooooo...whee! You have one hard head!"

The alien stood up taller and looked down at the smaller Lasat and Zeb looked back up to meet it's challenge. Suddenly, it took both hands and brought them down onto the Lasat's shoulders sending Zeb to his knees with a grunt of pain. He got back up and noticed that the alien was removing it's shoulder cannon and then both wrist gauntlets.

"No weapons, eh?" the Lasat asked as he took off the wrist gauntlet, set down the spear, sling, and bow with quiver of arrows.

The creature roared out a challenge and took on the stance of a warrior ready to battle to the death. Zeb took on a similar stance, knowing this could be the end of his life, but he wasn't afraid. At that moment, he thought about Hera, Kanan, Ezra, Sabine, Rex, Kallus, Ele, Leka, Ayessa and others that he cared about. He would defeat this creature for them, so others of it's kind would never hurt anyone again.

"C'mon ugly, let's do it!"

The alien frowned and fingered a strange necklace that looked like fingers around it's neck. Probably another of it's past conquests. Zeb in turn, placed a hand against his own chest feeling the armor beneath his fingers that he and Sabine had so lovingly made last year with her artwork of a joopa on it. After almost the reverent gestures, the two beings began possibly the last battle of their lives.

They charged each other, fists flying and both fell to the ground stunned. They got back up after catching their breath to attack again with renewed vigor. Zeb felt his strength growing and so was that of the alien. He staggered after a roundhouse punch to the side of his face and he felt a couple of teeth loosen. Spitting out blood and a couple of teeth, Zeb got back up to deliver a punch with his left fist that knocked one of the alien's tusks out of the socket. It gave out a hiss of pain and renewed it's attack.

"There!" the Lasat called out as he wiped blood away from his mouth, "Now both of us are missing teeth!"

He let out a gasp as the creature suddenly grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up into the air. Zeb gasped as he felt the large hands squeezing the life out of him. The alien was going to either break his neck or crush his trachea!

"Kara...bast!" he choked out and tried to break the alien's grip, but it was too strong. Realizing that he was dying, Zeb gave one last burst of strength. He raised up his muscular dijigrade legs and gave the alien a swift kick to it's stomach throwing it back. It's hands now free from his throat, Zeb fell gasping to the ground, coughing so hard he threw up. After recovering some, the Lasat got back up to see what happened to the hunter.

It lay prone on the ground near a sharp rock that had pierced it's back and it groaned with pain. Zeb slowly walked over to stand over it. For some reason seeing it laying there helpless made him feel a little guilty. He saw that the creature's legs weren't moving and he knew that it's back was probably broken. It raised it's arms up to it's chest in a gesture of surrender, blood trickling from it's mouth. Zeb knealt down close but not too close knowing it could still harm him.

"Worthy," it uttered in it's gutteral voice.

"What?!" Zeb asked and watched as the alien gestured for him to come closer. Zeb swallowed hard knowing it might be a trap, but he knealt closer.

"Worthy...opponent," it gasped out as more blood trickled from it's mouth and down it's neck.

"Worthy opponent...me?" Zeb said, "Uh...you were too."

"Worthy opponent...deserve mark."

"Mark?"

"Y..yes...mark of...hunter."

Zeb frowned not understanding what the dying alien meant. He watched as the creature took one of the fingers off the trophy necklace around it's scaly neck.

"Closer," it whispered, it's life force quickly fading.

Zeb bent down and saw the creature break the finger in two and an acrid smell came from it and a hiss of steam. The green blood from the finger had an acid base.

"C...Closer."

Zeb bent down closer and the creature took the severed finger, placing the bleeding end on his head between his forehead ridges. He felt a burning sensation as the acid blood etched a mark through his fur to the skin underneath. Zeb groaned in pain but withstood this strange ritual. Tears fell from his eyes, tears of pain.

"Worthy," the creature gasped and then fell limp.

Zeb reached up to feel the jagged mark on his forehead and looked back down to see the hunter's eyes close in death.

"Worthy," he whispered as more tears fell but this time they were tears of sadness...


	11. Chapter 11 Showdown Aftermath

A/N: In this chapter, Zeb will be learning all he can about the hunter's ship. He will find out it won't be easy, also he will be getting a visit from some unwelcome guests...

Chapter 11 Showdown Aftermath

Zeb placed the last of the rocks on the makeshift grave he prepared for the hunter leader after defeating it the day before. The Lasat felt a twinge of guilt at the alien's death but knew it was for the best. He thought of taking the dead creature's weapons but as a former member of the Honor Guard, he knew that would be wrong.

"You fought a good battle," he said as he stood up and bowed in respect, "I only wish that things could've turned out differently. An enemy can become a friend."

He thought back to the time he was stranded on that ice moon off Geonosis with Alexandr Kallus. Zeb had despised the man before learning the truth of what happened on Lasan and also Kallus telling him about a Lasat mercenary wiping out his entire squad on Onderon. The two had become allies and were now as close as brothers.

Ne'Roos who was still inside the ship, let out a loud mewling sound showing she was scared at not having Zeb nearby. He put the mask/filter on his face so he could breathe aboard the alien craft. Somehow, he had to figure out how he could make the air breathable for him and Ne'Roos. He couldn't wear a mask all the time and the baby animal couldn't stay locked up in the clear cage. He walked back up the ramp and to where the little animal was whining obviously frightened of all the noise she heard outside from the battle.

"Here I am," he said picking up the cage so she could see him. Her whining turned to purring at the sight of the Lasat.

"Let's you and I explore more of this ship," he said heading to what looked like a stairway to an upper level of the ship, "I wonder where this goes? Maybe to the control center or cockpit?"

Carrying Ne'Roos in her "cage", Zeb ascended the stairway and it lead up to what he figured was the control center of the ship. What he saw amazed him. Two large seats sat in front of a complicated console of buttons and levers. A large viewport showed the vast trees of the jungle and an area burned away by the ship's landing. Zeb walked over to what he figured was the pilot's seat and sat down, placing Ne'Roos' cage in the other seat. He was dwarfed by the immense size of the seat.

"Karabast!" he muttered, "These guys are huge! I thought being a Lasat made me big, but these guys make me look as small as a human!"

Ne'Roos purred and she pressed her nose against the cage side her nose twitching at the strange smells.

"Sorry, girl, you have to stay in there until I find a way to clear the air. Let's see, I wonder if any of these buttons will clear the methane out. Maybe this button will do it."

He pushed a yellow button and the air began to clear of it's methane haze. Zeb removed his mask/filter and took a deep breath. The air was full of oxygen with just a slight methane undertone. He picked up the clear cage container with Ne'Roos and opened it up. The little creature was thrilled to be back in her "parent's" arms and took a deep breath. Setting Ne'Roos down, Zeb began to look around more at the control console.

Zeb pushed a blue-colored button and a rumbling sounded from deep within the ship and then the whole craft began to shudder.

"Opps!" Zeb cried out and pushed the button again, the sound stopping, "Must be the ship's power. Gotta be careful of what button I push next."

He pulled a lever that didn't do anything and then pushed a red button and all of a sudden a bright light appeared below the ship and Zeb watched as the trees in front were vaporized by a laser blast.

"KARABAST!"

Nearly frantic, Zeb pushed the button again and the laser weapons ceased their shooting. He leaned back in the huge seat and wiped a hand across his face.

"Oh, boy! I gotta watch out which buttons to push! Too bad there wasn't a manual with translations for these controls! Guess I'll have to be more careful!"

Ne'Roos came out from under the co-pilot's seat and whined, scared of the loud noises. Zeb picked her up to cuddle and the little animal settled down. With her in his arms, Zeb got up to check out more of the alien ship. He walked down the stairs and discovered that a hatch opened to another part of the ship that housed what looked like crew cabins, not unlike what was aboard the GHOST. Zeb walked down the cooridor and pushed a button on what looked like a door. It whooshed open and Zeb walked in his eyes widening at what he saw was the main cabin of the lead hunter. The room had a huge bed-like bunk in the middle of the room and what looked like a refresher off to one side. Off in one corner sat something like a chest that was open. Zeb moved over to peer into the open chest. Inside was a full set of hunter armor and weapons. It looked nearly identical to the lead hunter's armor except for one difference. This armor was much smaller and would fit Zeb. He lifted out the shoulder armor and to his surprise, it fit perfect!

"Hey, Ne'Roos! Looks like I've got me some new armor!" he said to the little animal who was now sitting at the foot of the large bed, "Just in time, too! My chest and back armor are nearly worn out and this loincloth doesn't keep me very covered...or warm. First things first, I'm gonna see if this refresher has a tub or shower."

After setting the armor back down into the chest, Zeb walked into the large refresher station that was bigger than the one on the GHOST. It had everything a normal ship refresher would have, but the difference was the size. Everything was bigger! A big smile crossed his face at the thought of soaking in a tub of warm water.

Soon Zeb was up to his neck in a tub of warm soothing water that soaked into his fur and made his aching muscles and injuries feel better. The Lasat was nearly falling asleep and looked over to see Ne'Roos was sitting on the edge dangling a paw into the water. He let out a chuckle and closed his eyes. Zeb stayed in the water until it got too cold and he began to shiver. He got out, dried off and wrapped a big towel-like garment around his slim waist. He went over to the bed and stretched out to rest. He closed his eyes and fell asleep, Ne'Roos laying cuddled up to his chest.

The Lasat would sleep for two days, completely exhausted by his fight with the hunter leader. As he slept, out in space, a ship just like the one Zeb was aboard was approaching and began an orbit around the jungle world.

Zeb awoke and made his way to what he found out was the ship's galley and it was full of food that Zeb discovered wasn't fit for Lasat or a tiny animal to eat. The first time Zeb tried one of the packaged dinners from the cooler unit, he threw up! It was the most foul-tasting thing he had ever eaten! The Lasat was thankful that he had hunted alot when he and Ne'Roos were living inside the temple ruins now so far away. He had enough to last for awhile, but he knew he had to get more food.

He was sitting at a table in the galley when he heard a boom from outside and felt the ground rumble underneath the ship. He ran up to the control center and saw a huge alien ship land nearby.

"Ne'Roos!" he called to his furry companion, "Stay here! I think some more hunters are here!"

Running back to his cabin, Zeb put on the battle armor of the hunters and also the shoulder cannon. The Lasat was determined to defend himself and Ne'Roos to the death if he needed to. Swallowing hard, Zeb picked up his spear and descended the ramp and saw that four very tall hunters were standing at the bottom of a ramp leading into their ship that looked bigger than the one he was on. The lead hunter was a large brown colored being with black spots on his skin. He wore a helmet like the others but his had a different marking than the one the leader had that Zeb killed. Standing taller and his Lasat features in a frown, Zeb felt scared inside, but he appeared brave even though he knew he could die.

The tall alien, easily four meters in height, approached Zeb in the manner of an experienced hunter and stopped looking down at the smaller and shorter Lasat. Zeb swallowed hard, feeling his knees knocking in fear. The tall creature bent down to his height and lifted a hand up to Zeb's face. Zeb gulped thinking the creature was going to grab his head and crush it, but all it did, was run a long clawed finger over the scar between Zeb's eyebrow ridges; his hunter mark.

"Hunter mark," it said in a voice three times as deep as Zeb's.

Zeb didn't say anything, for he was too scared to move or speak.

"Hunter mark," it said again and gestured to the other hunters to come forward. They did and stood beside the leader. They in turn touched the mark and stepped back.

"Yeah, I got a hunter mark," the Lasat answered, "I don't know if you can understand me, but the hunter leader gave me this mark after I defeated him in battle. My people, the Lasat, call something like this, the Booshan Keeraw. It is the Lasat warrior way of showing respect for a foe that has defeated him in battle. In the Honor Guard that I served in, if this happened, the defeated warrior would reward his bo-rifle to the winning opponent. Since the hunter leader isn't Lasat, he gave me his mark. If you want to attack me fine. I'll put up a fight you'll never forget!"

"Worthy," it said to Zeb and touched his forehead again, "Worthy hunter."

The aliens turned and walked back into their ship. Zeb watched them, green eyes wide with shock and a little fear. The ramp closed and the engines fired up, the immense vessel taking off. Zeb stood watching it until it disappeared in the clouds and he fell to his knees, all the adrenalin leaving his body. He picked himself back up and went back inside...

On Yavin IV:

Ezra and Sabine were working on getting the PHANTOM II's com system to work more efficient when a strange signal sounded over the com.

"Ezra!" the Mandalorian girl said from her position on the shuttle's deck, tools around her, "There's something coming through on the com!"

"Is it Kanan and Hera?" he asked.

"The signal is weak and has an unfamiliar sound to it. It doesn't have an alliance signature either."

"It is Tarkaalian," came a voice from the hatchway. It was Ayessa, and the tall Barrelian beauty was bringing in some more tools for Sabine to use.

"Tarkaalian?" Ezra asked, "Never heard of them!"

"They are a nomadic species that moves from planet to planet, and my people have run into them several times," she answered, "Their homeworld Tarkaa was destroyed many centuries ago when their sun went supernova and the ones that got away, just roamed the galaxy hoping to settle down on a new world."

"Are they friendly, or like the Empire?" Sabine asked poking her head up from the console.

"Uh...more like the Empire," Ayessa replied looking down, "They don't take kindly to other species interacting with them and if any of their people get involved with other species, they are banished."

"Sounds like the Empire," Ezra added.

"What sounds like the Empire?" a deeper accented voice spoke from the hatchway.

It was Leka and Ele was beside him. The young Fulcrum agents had just helped Senator Mothma with some codes that she and other members of the Rebel Command couldn't figure out. They had been at it for hours and were taking a much needed break and wanted to spend time with Sabine and Ezra who they had grown close to.

"Sabine has picked up a signal on the com," Ezra said gesturing them to come in and sit near him and Ayessa, "Have a listen."

"Karabast," Leka whispered, his green eyes widening, "That's...That's...Tarkaalian. I'd know that signal anywhere!"

"Leka's right," Ele answered coming up to sit next to her bondmate seeing he was shocked, "We've...encountered them before in our dealings with other agents and mercenaries."

"The Tarkaalians are a rough bunch and we should steer clear of them. I've heard that they have taken both Wookiees and Lasat as...slaves since the Empire came into power," the young Lasat said his features changing into a look of distain. Ele held onto his arm more knowing how Leka felt about others being enslaved.

"I wonder if the Tarkaalians have encountered those alien hunters that captured Zeb?" Ezra asked, "They might know where he was taken!"

"Too risky," Ele answered, "If we contact them, they could sell us out to the Empire. I'm not about to endanger you or any of the other rebels. The cost is too great!"

"I know this sounds like a stupid question," Ezra added, "What do the Tarkaalians look like?"

"Think of a Kaminoan with long sapphire blue hair over their whole body and eyes as white as snow. Not many other beings have seen them, but my people have seen them in years past," Ele added seeing the looks of amazement on the other's faces, "It's like Leka said, they don't like to associate with other species."

"Maybe we don't have to contact them," Sabine said adjusting the controls on the com, "Maybe, I can pinpoint the location of the signal and that will give us a lead."

"How?" Ezra asked, "We can't exactly go out and ask them where they are."

The Mandalorian girl gave her friend a look of sarcasm and adjusted the controls more, "This signal is coming from an area out in Wild Space. An area that as of today, is largely undiscovered."

"Pinpoint it's location," Ezra said going over to help her. Ayessa frowned but felt hope at maybe finding out where Garazeb was taken. Ele and Leka also went over to help their friends. The Barrelian closed her eyes and reached out to try and locate her sycha. Lately, she wasn't able to reach him like she was able to at first. It was like the Lasat had disappeared and was lost.

"Please come home," she whispered as she reached out in her mind...

Back on the jungle world:

Zeb was leaning back in the seat on the control deck and he was drinking a fruity beverage that he found, when all of a sudden he felt something in his head. At first he thought it was the alcohol hitting his system. The pleasant beverage was full of an alcohol that was affecting him alot more than drinks had ever done to him before. It was even stronger than the Hutt Swamp Fizz he had tried on Nar Shaddaa in what seemed like so long ago. The feeling was pleasant and familiar.

"Ayessa?" he muttered and let out a loud belch that frightened Ne'Roos who was sitting on one of his knees. The little animal jumped down and went over to sit on the other seat, "What's the matter?"

He hiccupped and then leaned over nearly falling out of the big seat that dwarfed his Lasat body. Ne'Roos just turned her back on him and curled up to sleep. Zeb just chuckled and continued to drink the bottle of hunter booze getting drunker by the minute. Finally he passed out and lay hanging over the seat arm, his tongue hanging out. Ne'Roos walked over, hopped up onto his back and waited for him to wake up.

Hours later, the Lasat woke up with the worst hangover he had ever had in his life and spent the rest of the day puking in the refresher and trying to sleep it off. He was so miserable that he lay crying, naked on the refresher floor looking pathetic. Finally, feeling a little better, he made it back to the cabin and slept the rest of the hangover off.

Late the next day he woke up, showered, and got dressed in the hunter armor to try and learn more about the ship's controls.

"Last time I go on a bender like that," he muttered to Ne'Roos who was asleep on his knees, "Sheesh! About puked my guts out! Now I know to stay away from hunter booze! That was some wicked stuff! Bet I made a fool of myself! At least Rex isn't here! He'd never let me hear the end of it!"

Thinking about his friend made him feel sad and he closed his eyes hoping to see Rex again and the rest of the family. Tears came to his eyes and he didn't try to blink them away.

"I miss you...I miss you all!" he said and put his hands over his face the tears wetting his fingers. Ne'Roos nuzzled his hands trying to calm his sadness in the only way she knew how.

Back on Yavin IV, a Barrelian female kneeled before her prayer stone and reached out to touch her sycha in a feeling of the purest love...


	12. Chapter 12 Jungle World Escape

A/N: Zeb will be continuing to survive on the jungle planet with his little furry companion Ne'Roos and without others to talk to, he will start to become depressed and a bit paranoid. Due to a bad storm hitting the planet, Zeb will have to quickly learn how to fly the alien ship or perish! He will end up on Nar Shaddaa again and meeting up with a favorite character from the "Rebels" series, Hondo Ohnaka. The old Weequay pirate will help the Lasat to get home...

Chapter 12 Jungle Planet Escape

It had been nearly two years since Zeb had arrived on the jungle planet and almost seven months since he defeated the hunter leader. The Lasat, craving companionship other than that of his furry friend Ne'Roos, was becoming depressed and a bit paranoid. He became jumpy at any loud sound inside or outside of the ship and began to have bad dreams all the time. Even though he had access to food, Zeb didn't eat much and continued to lose weight. It would take a major storm to bring him out of his depressed state.

Towards the rainy season that Zeb recognized was coming, he had just returned to the ship after going hunting for something else to eat besides roots and berries that he would harvest around the area of the ship. He watched the sky seeing that the clouds were darker than normal and his Lasat senses told him that this storm could be a bad one. Walking back into the ship and having Ne'Roos nearly knock him over when she leaped into his arms, he took his newly killed lizard creatures to the galley to prepare them for storage. Lightning flashed in the distance and a clap of thunder sounded making him flinch.

"Bad storm coming, girl," he said to the furry creature that was shivering in his arms. Ne'Roos was nearly as big as her mother Ashla was. "Don't worry, we're safe as long as we stay inside the ship. You lay here on the floor and let me get these things cleaned and ready for the cooler."

Awhile later, Zeb, carrying Ne'Roos back to the control center, sat in the pilot's seat and gazed out at the darkening clouds and the flashes of lightning that were picking up in pace as well as the claps of thunder. Ne'Roos refused to sit in the other seat and Zeb didn't mind. The approaching storm was unnerving him as well. He had never seen the sky so dark and when no rain fell from the clouds, the Lasat began to worry. One lucky strike to one of the tall trees could spark a wildfire that would become a threat. He looked over the controls on the console in front of him and was glad that the past few months he had learned which buttons and levers controlled different functions on the ship.

He had just returned from the galley with a cup of tooka root tea, when a bright flash of lightning blinded him for a moment and then a clap of thunder sounded making the ship shake. Ne'Roos let out a squeal of fear and jumped onto his lap burying her face in his chest. Another bolt of lightning appeared and struck a tall tree close to the ship. The thunder shook the ship again and a loud crash sounded after the thunder. Zeb jumped at the loud noise and saw a glow on the starboard side of the viewport. Ne'Roos let out a sound he had never heard before; a scream of terror.

A fire had started and Zeb began to panic. He looked down at the control console and for a moment forget how to work the alien controls. Taking a deep breath and slowing his breathing down, the Lasat stared at the controls and becoming calmer, he was now able to push the right buttons and levers. His face in a look of deep concentration, Zeb pushed the blue button and the ship's engines began to fire up and ease into a hum that was almost soothing to him. He pushed a lever upwards knowing that was what would aid in the ship taking off, but it wouldn't move!

"Karabast!" he cried out and tried again with the same results. The ship was being held down by something. he looked out the viewport seeing trees imploding in flames and the wind driving the fire closer.

Getting up, the Lasat ran down the stairway and out to the entranceway where he opened the hatch and lowered the ramp. He immediately was overcome by thick smoke and coughed, his eyes watering. He glanced to the the right side of the ship and saw an immense tree on fire and wedged against the ship, thus blocking it from taking off. Not caring if he got hurt, Zeb ran over and with both hands began to try and move the tree away from the ship. Smelling the scent of burning fur and flesh, Zeb let out a growl and with all the strength he could muster in his slim body, he managed to push the tree away and it fell with a loud crash. Zeb's watery eyes saw that a fire had started from the lightning strike and was getting close to the ship. He knew that he had to get out of there and quick!

Panting with effort, the Lasat ran back into the ship and closed up the hatch. He ran three steps at a time up to the control center where Ne'Roos was whining on the co-pilot seat. Giving her a quick pat on the head and strapping her in, he sat down and began the take off sequence that hopefully would work. He closed his eyes praying to the Ashla and placed the straps around his chest and waist, cinching them as far as they would go and pushed the lever up near the blue engine button. The alien craft shuddered as if a giant hand had ahold of it and as Zeb watched, the burning trees began to look like they were shrinking as the ship started to lift off. He again offered a prayer and pushed the lever as far as it would go.

"Ne'Roos, hang on!" he yelled above the engine noise and the cracks of thunder, "Don't exactly know how to fly this thing!"

The little animal curled up, her head buried in her fluffy tail and she was shivering. Zeb wanted to comfort her, but knew he had to keep his attention on flying the ship. The alien craft continued it's climb out of the burning jungle when a lightning bolt hit the ship near the stern and sent it almost crashing back into the ground. With a loud cry, Zeb pulled on the lever and the steering mechanism that had popped up when he started the engines.

"C'mon!" he yelled above the din, "Don't crash! Please don't crash!"

The ship shuddered and with sweat pouring off his face, the Lasat pulled back on the lever and steering mechanism relieved that the large vessel was gaining altitude. Soon the burning trees and smoke disappeared and was replaced by dark clouds and a driving rain with lightning flashes below them. Finally the ship entered an orbit and Zeb could relax but saw a light blinking at the controls. It was a warning about the ship's hyperdrive that Zeb recognized.

"Oh, Karabast," he groaned, "Well, Ne'Roos, it looks like we'll be limping home and it will take us longer. Let me see if the navigation controls still work. Good, I'll check the readings to see if there is any worlds nearby that we can land on and see how much damage occured with that lightning strike. Hopefully where we land isn't an Imperial occupied planet."

He pushed a button and a holographic map popped up and he recognized one planet that was far but they could reach it if the fuel held out. The fuel indicator showed that they didn't have nearly enough to reach Yavin IV, but enough to reach Nar Shaddaa. He groaned at the thought of landing on that scummy world but beggers can't be choosers. After landing, maybe he could contact Hera and Kanan and they could come pick him up. The thought of seeing his friends again gave him new hope.

After making sure the ship was fine on autopilot, Zeb headed to the medbay to take care of the burns on his hands and feet. He had burned them while removing the tree off the ship. Ne'Roos followed him to the medbay and sat while he washed the burned fur and skin off before putting medicinal salve on them. He found some bacta-type bandages and wrapped up both of his hands and the tops of his prehensile feet.

"Kriff, that hurts!" he muttered and gave himself a pain shot as the burns were becoming increasingly painful.

After bandaging his wounds, the Lasat went to the galley to get a cup of water to take back up to the control center. He didn't want to be away too long from the controls in case there were a problem. With Ne'Roos snuggled on his lap, Zeb settled in for the four day journey to Nar Shaddaa...

On board the GHOST that was nearing Yavin IV after an unsuccessful search for Zeb, Kanan Jarrus felt a familiar presense through the Force. He was sitting next to Hera in the cockpit and she noticed the change in his expression.

"Kanan, what's wrong? Is it the kids?" she asked putting a hand on his arm that was trembling.

"Zeb...," Kanan whispered and a smile crossed his face, "He's...alive."

"He's alive?" Hera asked feeling hope for the first time in a long time.

"Yes, I can feel him in the Force. I can't pinpoint his location but he's alive and that's all that matters."

"Should we call Ezra and Sabine? They need to know."

"No, Hera," he answered, "Let's not jump to conclusions, yet. Kriff...I lost him."

"No..."

Back on Yavin IV, Leka and Ezra felt Zeb's presense as well and they became excited at being reunited with the Lasat after so long. Ayessa, with her strong telepathic abilities, also sensed him and she looked forward to seeing her sycha again and holding him in her arms. Ele and Sabine stood seeing the looks on the young Force-users faces knowing they sensed Zeb and that he was alive.

"Zeb! He's alive!" both Ezra and Leka cried out. Suddenly, they lost the connection.

"Karabast!" Leka grumbled and felt tears in his eyes. He looked over at Ezra and saw the same lost look on his face. Sabine, Ele and Ayessa put hands over their faces to hide their tears of disappointment.

On the alien ship, Zeb spent most of the time in the control center and brought up a blanket from the cabin to keep him warm. The temperature was alot cooler on the ship now that it was in space. Zeb couldn't figure out how to regulate the temperature and decided to just deal with the cold and wrap up to stay warm. He also had put the shoulder armor back on, hoping that would help keep him warm, but it didn't help. Ne'Roos didn't seem to be bothered by the cold with her thick fur coat.

"You're lucky to have such thick fur," he said to his furry companion, "Usually the cold doesn't bother me, but with all this weight loss, I don't have the insulation I used to. At least there isn't a shortage of blankets."

A day out of Nar Shaddaa, the alien ship developed an engine problem. Zeb was asleep in the seat and felt the large vessel lurch as if it hit something.

"What the?!" he cried out, "Did we hit a meteorite or an asteroid?"

He checked the engine readout and his green eyes widened in shock.

"Oh...Karabast..." he said and grabbed the steering mechanism in his hands feeling it shake, "We're almost out of fuel! Ne'Roos, I don't think we're gonna make it to Nar Shaddaa!"

He closed his eyes in a silent prayer and held onto the steering and lever hoping they could at least land on the planet. With wide eyes, he caught a glimpse of the Hutt world and aimed the ailing vessel towards it. Praying in his Lasat tongue, Zeb readied landing coordinates and hoped the ship's computer would take them. He still had a little trouble deciphering the hunter's symbolic language and was glad he knew enough. The ship lurched again and then a voice came over the com unit.

"Unidentified vessel, you are entering Hutt space. State your name and your reason for landing on Nar Shaddaa."

Zeb took a deep breath and pushed the reply button:

"This is Captain Garazeb Orrelios of Phoenix Squadron on an alien ship of unknown origin. I was captured on Nar Shaddaa nearly two years ago and taken to another world. I just escaped a few days ago. My ship is out of fuel and I don't know how to land it! Please contact Hera Syndulla and Kanan Jarrus if I don't make it. Clear the landing area of any other ships because I'm coming in hot!"

"Captain Orrelios," the voice sounded again over the com, "Try to adjust your vector and enter these coordinates. We're clearing the area, so you'll have plenty of space."

"I'll try," Zeb answered his voice shaky, "This landing isn't gonna be pretty! Receiving coordinates."

In the newly rebuilt cantina Black Diamond, an elderly Weequay pirate and his Ugnaught sidekick were enjoying a much needed drink between missions when several humans came running into the building.

"Everybody, move your ships! There's a big vessel coming in that's out of fuel with an inexperienced pilot at the helm!"

"Melch!" the Weequay yelled to his little friend, "Let's move the OHNAKA'S PRIDE before that ship crashes! Just got my baby repainted after that last mission!"

Melch the Ugnaught let out a snort and ran out followed by Hondo Ohnaka his friend and fellow pirate. They made their way to the landing zone along with other pilots who had the same idea of moving their vessels out of the way. The two pirates climbed aboard their former Imperial shuttle and got her airborne. They landed it in a safe area next to the other ships.

"There it is!" a Twi'lek male called out as he landed his ship near Hondo's.

The Weequay looked up and saw a ship he had never seen before and it was twice as big as his! The ship was obviously in distress and smoke was pouring out of what looked like the exhaust ports. It was shuddering and the old pirate gasped as he looked up into what was the vast viewport of the cockpit. The being operating the ship looked familiar.

"Purple Guy?!" he whispered and heard Melch grunt next to him, "Melch! Move back! That ship's crashing!"

Zeb held on for dear life to the steering mechanism and shut his eyes knowing he could die. He pulled up with all the strength he could muster and the alien craft skidded along the ground trailing sparks and smoke as it came to a stop near Hondo's ship. He was thrown from the seat and hit the other seat with so much force, that the old injury in his right thigh opened up and his right arm refractured in nearly the same place. A cut opened up on his forehead above his left eye and he finally fell in a heap near the stairway. Ne'Roos had been thrown from her seat but huddled underneath as Zeb went flying by her. After the ship settled, she ran over to nuzzle her friend and whimpered when he didn't move. She sat on her haunches and began to howl thinking he were dead.

Outside the wrecked ship, Hondo, Melch and several others boarded the craft seeing the ramp had opened after crashing. Acrid smoke filled the vessel and Hondo had to cover his mouth with a scarf he had around his neck. Melch was hiding his snout inside his tunic. The Weequay pirate made his way to where a stairway lead to the upper part of the ship. Hondo and Melch walked up the damaged stairs and spotted Zeb laying still on the floor and a furry animal was standing over him baring it's fangs. The old pirate and his friend started at the animal's protective nature of the injured Lasat.

"Purple Guy!" he said and made his way over to the motionless Lasat expecting to see that he was dead, but the green eyes were halfway open and he was groaning. The animal growled more, "Easy, I need to check your friend out."

"Hondo?" Zeb asked in a weak voice, "Why..."

"Why am I here on Nar Shaddaa?" he answered, "Collecting on a job I'll probably be stiffed on. You need help, my big purple friend, and fast! These are some bad injuries. You need to let your animal friend know we won't harm you."

A group of medics appeared out of nowhere and entered the ship to help Zeb. The Lasat was carried out on a floating stretcher and into a nearby aid station that wasn't far from the cantina. Hondo and Melch followed the medics to the station and watched as they stabilized the Lasat's many injuries. Ne'Roos lay on his chest and the medics didn't move her when she growled showing her big fanged teeth.

Zeb murmured to Ne'Roos and she nuzzled next to him licking his bleeding forehead.

"Does he have any family?" a medic asked not having seen a Lasat before, "Not many Lasat left."

"He has family," Hondo said, "And I will take him home to his family. I have to contact them. Oh...and let the strill stay with him. They are very protective animals when they bond to someone or something. It looks like Captain Orrelios has a Tarkaalian strill taking a liking to him. When they bond to someone, the bond is very strong and only death will break it."

"We have to make sure he's stable enough to travel through space, and I mean a stable ride. Garazeb needs the care of a full medical facility and soon! His leg and arm are going to need surgery. Contact his family as soon as you can. He has possible head and internal injuries."

Hondo nodded and went back to his ship to contact Hera and Kanan.

"Kanan!" Ezra called out as he ran from the rebel command center, "We're getting a call from...Hondo Ohnaka of all people!"

"Hondo?!" Kanan asked wondering what the old pirate wanted now, "Hondo, what do you want?"

"My Jedi friend, are you missing any crewmembers? Perhaps a big furry purple guy?"

Kanan felt his stomach drop to his knees. He gestured to Ezra to get Hera, Sabine, Kallus, Rex and Ayessa. Ele and Leka heard the commotion and ran to see what was wrong.

"Hondo," Hera said as she came up next to Kanan, "Is Zeb all right?"

"Captain Syndulla," the pirate said in his oily voice just for her, "The big guy is injured, but the medics at Nar Shaddaa spaceport, got him fixed up enough. I will be bringing him home to you in a few days."

"Hondo, can we talk to him?" Hera asked tears falling from her eyes. She looked back to see the others were just as teary-eyed.

"He's under heavy sedation right now and won't wake up for awhile. It is merciful that he stays sedated. The big guy has some broken bones, burns, cuts and possible internal injuries. I'm surprised he landed that ship in one piece like he did."

"Please bring him home, Hondo," Hera pleaded, "We'll pay you anything."

Ayessa stood nearby and crossed her arms over her chest, relieved that her sycha was alive and was coming home! Rex and Kallus closed their eyes offering a prayer for Zeb's return home.

"Well..." the old Weequay answered, "I just need a few supplies since my ship was raided a few days ago on Tatooine. Other than that, Melch and I are in fine shape for another adventure. Say hi to Ezra for me. See you in four days."

Back on Yavin IV, the family of Garazeb Orrelios embraced each other as they cried and waited to be reunited with him after so long...


	13. Chapter 13 Zeb's Homecoming

A/N: Zeb will be getting home, but he is injured bad and will have a long recovery ahead of him. Hondo is bringing him home aboard his ship and with the old pirate's help, the Lasat will be reunited with his family after so long. This will be the last update for awhile. I have a medical problem that might require some treatment.

Chapter 13 Zeb's Homecoming

On board Hondo's ship, Zeb lay on a bunk in the shuttle's small medbay. The Lasat was in bad shape after crashing in the alien ship on Nar Shaddaa. The medics had patched him up the best they could, but he needed the care of a full medical facility. The sedatives he was given by the medics, were wearing off and he was in a great amount of pain.

"Ugh!" he groaned and sat up on the bunk, a hand on his bandaged head, "Where am I?"

A wave of dizziness hit, but Zeb sat up more dangling his legs over the side of the bunk. He took a deep breath and stood up to find his right leg wouldn't hold him up. The Lasat gritted his teeth at the pain and looked down to see a huge bacta bandage on it and he took inventory of the rest of his body. Besides the bandaged leg, he saw that his right arm was in a brace and he felt a bacta bandage on his head above his left eye.

"Karabast...," he groaned and spotted a crutch leaning against a wall. It was made for someone alot shorter than him, but would work okay to support him while he looked around the ship. He reached over to grab the crutch and leaned onto it, even with the height difference, it worked. Zeb limped towards the doorway and and then passed by a mirror seeing his face.

"I look worse than ever," he grumbled and stared at his face staring back at him. His left eye was half swollen shut and a bacta bandage was on his forehead ridge covering a deep laceration. His green eyes that were usually bright and full of life, looked dull and lifeless. Dark circles were under the big eyes and the dark purple stripes that accented the sides of his face and on top of his head, had lost some of their vibrant color. His lips were cracked and the bottom one had a cut on it, his slitted nostril nose was red and caked with muscus. Zeb frowned more and then limped out of the medbay.

The Lasat followed what he figured was the way to the cockpit. Hondo's ship was similar to the Imperial shuttle that he and the GHOST crew had stolen almost four years ago. He went through the open door and was met by an angry Ugnaught hitting him in the knees.

"Hey!" Zeb yelled, "Melch, you know who I am! Quit hitting me!"

Melch snorted and turned to confront Hondo.

"Purple Guy!" the Weequay pirate called out seeing the Lasat, "You should be laying down. These are some bad injuries."

"Hondo, where am I? Where are we going?" Zeb asked as Hondo helped him to a seat near his.

"My big purple friend, you are aboard my ship OHNAKA'S PRIDE and I'm taking you home to your family."

"You...You're taking me home?"

"Yes, Purple Guy. Melch and I are taking you home to your family."

"My...family," Zeb whispered tears in his eyes, "Can I talk to them?"

"I'm sorry, my big purple friend, if you don't want any unnecessary attention from the Empire, we have to refrain from sending any messages."

An almost pout formed on the Lasat's face.

Back on Yavin IV:

Ayessa sat kneeling on the floor of her quarters in the vast Massassi temple that housed Rebel Command. The weather become rainy and cooler so she couldn't go to the waterfall.

"Oh, Garazeb," she whispered as she closed her eyes and sat cross-legged in front of the small altar she had built to house her prayer stone, "The gods are returning you to me. Oh, my sycha, I long to hold you in my arms. I know being Barrelian my species usually doesn't show affection by touch, but I yearn to feel you close to me, to feel your soft fur under my fingers."

She stopped speaking and opened her golden eyes that were full of tears.

"Garazeb, I love you. I hope you love me too. I want you for my bondmate."

Ezra and Sabine sat in the common area of the GHOST playing a game of Sabacc with Rex and Kallus. The four rebels had a hard time keeping their minds on the game knowing Zeb was finally coming home after two years.

Kanan and Hera lay in each other's arms after making love. They felt relief at Zeb coming home and looked forward to giving the Lasat the biggest hugs they could give him.

"Kanan," Hera said her head on his bare chest, "Our wayward kid is finally coming home."

"Don't let Zeb hear you call him that," Kanan answered putting an arm around Hera's naked shoulders, "You know he doesn't like being called a kid."

"Oh, I know. Even though he's older than both of us, I feel maternal towards him, and always have since we rescued him from Lasan so long ago. I feel the same way about Ezra and Sabine."

"I know, I missed him too and am relieved he's finally coming home. Let's get some rest."

"Okay, love," Hera said and gave him a kiss.

On Hondo's ship:

"Purple Guy, you need to lay down," Hondo said to Zeb for the umteenth time.

"Hondo, my name is Zeb, not Purple Guy," Zeb said as he grimaced against the pain in his head and right arm.

"Sorry...Zeb, you need to return to the medbay. Melch, mind the controls while I help Pur...uh...Zeb back to the medbay."

The Ugnaught nodded and went over to sit at the shuttle's controls.

Hondo helped Zeb back to the medbay and got the stubborn Lasat onto the bunk. He gave Zeb a shot of painkiller much to the Lasat's dismay.

"You need it, my big purple friend," the old pirate said and put a blanket over the Lasat's body, "These are bad injuries and need time to heal. Getting up and walking around won't make them heal any faster."

"Hondo...," Zeb began to say.

"Zeb," the Weequay answered, "You need to rest. I'll have you home in three days."

The Lasat smiled and closed his eyes, "Thanks, Hondo."

"You're welcome, Purple Guy."

As the old pirate walked out of the medbay, he heard the Lasat laughing. He smiled in spite of himself. He felt good helping Zeb get home, for the Lasat with help from Ezra and Sabine, rescued him from an Imperial prison once. That was the rescue where he lost his friend and partner, Terba. He felt bad for quite awhile at the Ugnaught's death, but now with Melch as his new partner, the memories weren't so painful.

Zeb drifted off to sleep and thanks to the pain medications, he began to dream about being reunited with his family. He smiled in his sleep as he dreamed about getting sibling hugs from Ezra and Sabine; punches and manly hugs from Rex and Kallus; and Kanan would give him a quick hug in that reserved way of his. Hera, would envelope him in a maternal hug that felt like the embrace of a mother. His smile vanished for a moment at that thought and tears fell down the sides of his face. He rolled over on the medbay bed as the dreams continued. This time he dreamed about Ayessa and how much he loved spending time with the beautiful Barrelian female. He thought about the walks they would take together, her slim hand in his bigger one. As he slipped further into a deep sleep, the Lasat kept dreaming about his lady love. He now realized that Ayessa was his one true love and he smiled in his sleep as he saw her laying across his lap as he caressed her long black hair and soft dark skin. She was smiling back at him with love in her golden eyes. He reached down to kiss her when a stab of pain went through his right leg waking him up.

"Ugh," he groaned and felt someone changing the dressing on the laceration. The wound was bleeding again, "Karabast! That hurts!"

Zeb prepared to punch who was changing the bandage.

It was Melch.

"Sorry, Melch," the Lasat said seeing the Ugnaught look scared, "Was dreaming and you startled me."

"Sor...ry," the little alien said in Basic, then launched into his own tongue.

"I can't understand you, but sorry for scaring you. Being a Lasat, makes me a bit intimidating to a smaller species."

Melch just smiled and finished bandaging Zeb's leg. The Ugnaught gave the Lasat a playful slap to his good shoulder and smiled.

"Thanks, Melch, you're okay...for an Ugnaught."

"You okay...too," the little being said his smile bigger, "Sleep now."

The day came for Zeb's return and his family waited anxiously on Yavin IV, knowing Hondo's ship would be arriving within the next two hours. Sabine and Ezra made sure Zeb's bunk was ready for him. Hera and Kanan talked to the medics relaying what Hondo told them of Zeb's condition. Rex and Kallus readied themselves to welcome back their friend and fellow Sabacc player. Ele and Leka helped Sabine and Ezra, feeling just as excited at Zeb's homecoming. Ayessa reached out with her telepathic abilities and connected with her sycha. She began to cry when she felt the pain of his many injuries.

"I will take care of you," she said her arms in a gesture of love.

Onboard the ship, Hondo and Melch had a hard time keeping Zeb in the medbay, especially after he felt Ayessa's telepathic touch.

"Who is Ayessa?" Hondo asked checking the bandage on Zeb's forehead.

"She's...uh...someone I know back home," Zeb answered his cheeks red with embarrassment.

"Oh...a lady friend," Hondo said smiling, "Is she a Lasat too?"

"No...she's Barrelian."

"Barrelian you say. They are a very tall species and are said to have strong telepathic abilities. The females are very beautiful in physical appearance. I'm surprised one of such beauty could love..."

"A Lasat?" Zeb finished for him, "What's wrong with that?"

"Well," Hondo said, "Your species aren't that good looking and your fur smells rather...musky."

"Hondo," Zeb answered as he gave the Weequay a dirty look, "You Weequays aren't that handsome either, and you smell too."

"Oh, my big purple friend, I'm just teasing you. I'm happy for you. I had a lover once but she left me."

"You probably drove her crazy."

"Yes, you could say that, but that's all in the past. Let's get you cleaned up a bit. Can't have your lady love seeing you look like this!"

"Yeah...I agree."

"Kanan!" Ezra called as he checked the readouts at the GHOST'S control console, "Hondo's inbound and should be here within a few minutes!"

The blind Jedi nodded and went to get Hera and Sabine.

Soon Zeb's family plus four were waiting by the landing area. A group of medics with a gurney waited nearby and would take Zeb inside for treatment.

"There's Hondo's ship!" Ezra called out pointing up at an approaching vessel that used to be an Imperial shuttle.

Kanan and Hera looked up to see the modified Lambda shuttle come in for a landing. Hera tried to keep the tears inside but wasn't able to. She looked back to see Ezra and Sabine come up to stand by her and Kanan. The younger rebels both had tears in their eyes.

They stood and watched as the ramp lowered. Watching with baited breath, they saw Melch come down first squealing a welcome to them and running to get a hug from Ezra and Sabine. Hondo came down next supporting a Lasat they figured to never see again. Kanan, Hera, Ezra and Sabine swallowed hard and felt tears in their eyes at how skinney Zeb had become and how injured he was. The Lasat looked up and that crooked grin they loved appeared, his eyes filled with tears.

"Zeb!" Hera called out and ran to him throwing her arms around the Lasat.

"Hera," he whispered and fell to his knees feeling Hera's maternal embrace. Tears streamed down his face.

"Zeb," she said her voice shaky with emotion, "Oh...Zeb."

She pulled him closer rocking the now crying Lasat in her arms as if he were a child. Kanan came up next, helping Zeb to his feet. Ezra and Sabine ran up hugging the Lasat too as they laughed and cried at the same time.

"Zeb, you look awful," Ezra said a smile appearing through his tears, "That's some weird scar on your forehead and your ear..."

"Zeb, you big lug!" Sabine said giving him an even bigger hug, "Don't ever do that again! I thought I lost my big brother...forever!"

"Ya didn't, Sabine," he answered and stumbled. Kanan gestured to the medics to bring over the gurney. Zeb was loaded on and that's when Rex and Kallus came over to greet their friend.

"Welcome back, soldier," Rex said laying a hand on Zeb's shoulder. Zeb took his good hand and placed it over Rex's. Kallus bent down to give his friend a quick hug.

"Nice to see you guys again," the Lasat said his eyes full of tears.

"Welcome back...Garazeb," Kallus said squeezing Zeb's good hand.

Ele and Leka came up to greet him next. Both young Fulcrum agents bent down to hug him.

"Nice to see you kids again," Zeb said and then saw Ayessa walk up behind them. They moved back to let her in.

"A...Ayessa," Zeb whispered the tears now running down the sides of his face.

The Barrelian female bent down touching her forehead to his and caressed his wet cheeks. Tears fell from her eyes onto his face.

"My poor sycha," she whispered and pulled away to look into his eyes.

"Ayessa," he whispered seeing how close their faces were to each other, "Ayessa."

He reached a hand up to caress her wet face and was surprised when she pressed her lips to his in a tender kiss. The kiss lasted for awhile, until one of the medics cleared his throat.

"Ma'am, we have to get him into the medical facility."

"Sorry," she said pulling away and standing up to take hold of one side of the gurney. No one stopped her.

"Let her be," Kanan said to the lead medic, "She's what Zeb needs right now besides treatment."

"Very well, Kanan. You and Hera may come along, no one else. Garazeb will be checked over, evaluated and placed into a bacta tank for a few days maybe longer. These injuries are serious."

Ezra, Sabine, Rex, Kallus, Ele and Leka sat in the waiting area. Hondo and Melch came in, the Weequay carrying a small furry animal.

"Well, I'll be," Kallus said, "That's a Tarkaalian strill. Don't see many of them around."

"Yes, Agent Kallus," Hondo said, "This is a Tarkaalian strill and she has bonded to Zeb. He calls her Ne'Roos. She's been frantic ever since he left the ship. Where is he?"

"Being checked out by the medics and doctors," Ezra answered.

"Hondo, what happened to him?" Sabine asked holding out her hands for the strill. Ne'Roos was wary at first of the Mandalorian girl, but felt her gentle touch and lay against her chest.

"He never told me or Melch what happened to him on that planet. It must've been bad because he's had alot of nightmares."

In the main examining area of the medical facility, Zeb was quickly undressed of the hunter armor and he blushed as he was now naked in front of not only Hera and Kanan, but also Ayessa.

"How is he?" Hera asked watching Ayessa caress Zeb's head.

"Garazeb has many injuries, how bad we'll know more when we run a full body scan. I'll have the results in a few minutes," the head doctor a human male around sixty years of age said. His name was Coleg D'negel and was from Corellia originally.

Kanan, Hera and Ayessa waited as the results of the scan came in.

"It's lucky that Garazeb is a Lasat. If he were human, he'd be dead right now," Dr. D'Negel said.

"Doctor, how bad are the injuries?" Kanan asked seeing Hera side up next to him with Ayessa close by.

"Garazeb has six broken ribs, a ruptured spleen, a compound fracture of his right forearm, a deep laceration on his right thigh, an even deeper one over his left eye, and a severe concussion. We will be placing him in a bacta tank for a week and then he will have surgery on his right arm and leg."

"Will he be all right?" Hera asked.

"Yes," Dr. D'negel answered, "Garazeb is fairly young for a Lasat and even though I've only treated two other Lasat in my medical career, they heal quickly from injuries due to their strong physiology. You can stay here while we put him in the bacta tank. It can be a bit unnerving to a patient to be placed in the tank."

"Thank you," Kanan said and walked back over to see Zeb being cleaned off and dressed in a pair of shorts that barely covered his male parts. Ayessa insisted on washing him off and Zeb shut his eyes, clearly embarrassed at her seeing him naked, but he was soothed by her gentle touch and comforting words. Soon the Lasat was given a sedative and readied for the bacta tank. Kanan, Hera and Ayessa followed the medics who carried the sedated Lasat to the bacta tank. A harness was placed on Zeb along with a breathing mask and he was lifted up off the gurney and lowered into the tank. Hera and Kanan stood watching as the Lasat floated weightless in the bacta fluid. Ayessa walked up to the tank and placed her hands against the glass.

"I will not leave you, my sycha," she said and sat down on the floor in front of the tank.

"Miss Ayessa," one of the medics said to her, "You can't stay here."

"I must," she said and stood up looking down at the much shorter Duros female.

"Let her stay," Kanan said, "Her presense will be a calming influence on Zeb."

"As you wish, Master Jedi."

Hera went up to place a hand on the side of the tank.

"We'll be here when you wake up," she said and turned to leave with Kanan.

Ayessa moved next to the tank and placed her face next to the glass as if to give Zeb a kiss.

"I will be back, sycha, I need to get my prayer stone and a few things for my stay here in the medical facility."

Less than an hour later, Ayessa came back with her prayer stone, several blankets and a pillow. Two medics who were checking Zeb's vital signs, stopped when they saw the tall Barrelian female walk back into the bacta tank area. The two human males smiled seeing what she had on.

Ayessa was dressed in a floor length gown that looked to be made of spun gold and was very tight. Her arms were covered and the high neckline accented her slender neck, broad shoulders and full breasts. She bent down to set the blankets and pillow onto the floor and her breasts pressed against the material showing their shape and the nipples.

"Whoa...it's a good thing that Captain Orrelios is sedated. If he saw that, he'd have a heart attack," one said.

"Or a stiffy," the other added and they both chuckled and left.

Ayessa frowned because she heard the rather vulger comment but she was flattered at their admiration of her physique. She sat down cross-legged on a blanket and picked up her prayer stone to begin a Barrelian prayer of healing. While she was praying, Zeb began to twitch in his drug-induced slumber. Ayessa sensed his distress and opened her eyes. She saw the Lasat moving in the bacta tank and his eyes opened partway, a frown creasing the forehead ridges.

"Oh, my sycha, you're having a bad dream," she said and stood up. With her left hand, the Barrelian female began to unfasten her gown and the material separated to show the sides of her full breasts.

Zeb's eyes opened a little more and what looked like tears formed in them, then closed again. Ayessa moved up to the bacta tank and put her hands up to the glass surface. She closed her eyes reaching out to the Lasat telepathically. The big green eyes opened to a slit and he reached his left hand up to the side of the tank.

"Feel my touch, Garazeb. You are not alone. You will never be alone. Close your eyes, my sycha. Listen to my voice, feel my touch."

Zeb's eyes fluttered open at her touch and then closed. Ayessa moved closer to the tank pressing her full-figured body up to the glass. Her gown parted, the full breasts springing free as she placed her hands up against the tank. Tears fell from her eyes and she pressed herself closer the gown slipping off her shoulders.

"Garazeb, feel my touch," she whispered and she smiled seeing his eyes open to a slit and what looked like a smile crossed his face behind the breathing mask. She saw that his gaze was on her bare breasts and she knew that by the sound of his increasing heart rate that he was becoming aroused. Not wanting him to be harmed, she pulled up her gown and did it back up before he hyperventilated.

"Sleep...Garazeb," she whispered as she watched his good hand press up to hers, "Sleep my sycha, for we have plenty of time to experience intimacy."

Zeb's eyes closed as he drifted off to sleep and his body relaxed, arms and legs moving weightless in the bacta fluid. Ayessa smiled and then sat down on the makeshift bed to pick up her prayer stone. She closed her eyes and prayed in her native tongue for a few moments and then layed down to fall asleep dreaming about becoming closer to Zeb in a physical way...


	14. Chapter 14 A Lasat's Healing

A/N: In this chapter, Zeb will go through a bad time of readjusting to life on Yavin IV as part of the GHOST crew. His relationship with Ayessa will get stronger as she will take over caring for the troubled Lasat. On a side note, I might not be able to update as much due to a possible breast cancer diagnosis. Having a biopsy done October 2 and feeling a bit nervous. I still have a couple of chapters left and will update when I can. Warning for mature content; a scene with Zeb and Ayessa.

Chapter 14 A Lasat's Healing

He ran through the jungle knowing that the hunters were close behind him. He was bleeding from new wounds he had just received in his latest encounter with the alien hunters. Zeb felt the muscles in his legs protest against the excessive punishment he was putting them through. Sitting by the river, he was washing off the newest wounds to his side and leg. His left ear was a ragged mess and half gone. He splashed water on his ear, sighing as the wet coolness was soothing to the ragged fur and flesh.

Zeb kept running and saw his furry companion, Ashla, get shot right in front of him. He proceeded to kill one of the hunters with his bare hands and legs. The scene changed to Zeb's battle with the hunter leader and it giving Zeb it's clan mark on the forehead.

"Karabast!" he hissed against the pain. His eyes squeezed shut and tears streamed down his furry cheeks, "No!"

Zeb opened his eyes to see he wasn't with the wounded hunter, but in a strange place. He tried to sit up but couldn't.

"Easy, Zeb," came a soothing voice and a touch on his furry head.

The Lasat opened his eyes more and as his vision cleared, he saw the smiling face of Hera.

"Hera?" he asked his voice hoarse from nonuse.

"Yes, Zeb, it's me, and Kanan is here too."

"Hey, big guy," Kanan said coming into the Lasat's view.

Zeb tried to sit up and was met by a wave of dizziness and he looked down to see he was on a bed in a medbay, but where? He discovered that his right arm was in a cast/brace from his fingers to nearly his shoulder, also his right thigh was in a thick bacta bandage and elevated on several pillows. His prehensile feet had bacta bandages on them as did his left hand. He reached up to feel a bandage over his left eye.

"Where am I?" he asked feeling Hera position the pillow behind his head better.

"You're home on Yavin IV in the medbay," Hera answered.

"Zeb, you spent a week in a bacta tank and had surgery on your right arm and leg," Kanan added, "You've been asleep the last five days. Hera, go get the others."

"Not too many visitors at once," came a feminine voice from the doorway. She was a human nurse named Sarah who was around sixty years of age but youthful looking, "Garazeb just got out of the bacta tank and went through major surgery."

"Okay, Sarah," Kanan said and saw Ezra and Sabine come in behind Sarah. Sabine was holding the Tarkaalian strill that had bonded to Zeb. The little animal 's nose twitched, catching the musky scent of her friend. She let out a whine and leaped out of Sabine's arms to run over and leap up onto the bed. She began to lick Zeb's face. Hondo and Melch who were still at the rebel base, stood by the doorway so the Lasat's family could spend time with him.

"A family reunion," the old pirate said softy to Melch, "It melts this old pirate's heart."

"Hey, Ne'Roos!" Zeb said reaching over with his good hand to pet her. That got the strill wriggling all over and her fluffy tail wagging with joy. Zeb began to laugh, the sound music to everyone's ears. It had been a long time since they heard the Lasat's booming laugh.

"Zeb!" both Ezra and Sabine cried out and ran over to give the Lasat gentle hugs, Sabine giving him a kiss on his now wet cheek from Ne'Roos' licking.

Zeb was soon visited by Rex, Kallus, Ele and Leka. The old trooper and former agent hoped that Zeb would soon feel well enough to play a round of Sabacc. Leka and Ele chose to give him hugs with Ele planting a kiss on his forehead near the hunter mark scar.

A sound like a sigh came from the doorway and everyone turned to see Ayessa standing there her face in a smile of love, her big golden eyes shiny with tears.

"C'mon, guys," Rex said gesturing to them to leave, "Let's let Ayessa have some private time with Zeb."

Hera and Kanan agreed and took Ezra and Sabine in tow, followed by Ele and Leka. Ne'Roos curled up on Zeb's chest, purring in a tone of contentment. Zeb watched them leave and he saw Ayessa in the doorway, her tall lithe body in a gown of blue like the sky. The front had a plunging neckline that showed the sides of her full breasts. Around her neck she wore the Barrelian necklace and on her head she wore a band of flowers, her long black hair loose and flowing over her shoulders.

"Hi...Ayessa," Zeb said his voice not carrying very far, but Ayessa heard it.

"Hello, Garazeb," she said and began to walk into the room. Zeb watched and a smile started to form on his face at the sight of the beautiful Barrelian female. Soon she was standing beside the bed.

Ayessa reached a hand down to caress his face and he closed his eyes at her gentle touch. He breathed deep taking in her honey scent, thinking it was the sweetest thing he had ever experienced.

"My, sycha," she whispered and bent down to kiss him tenderly on the lips. Zeb reached up with his good hand to run his fingers through her hair, the kiss deepening.

She pulled away and sat down on the side of the bed. Zeb looked into her golden eyes feeling himself get lost in their luminous hue. Ayessa kissed him again and put her hands on his shoulders pulling him up to a sitting position. She embraced him in a gesture of the purest love and Zeb layed his head on her shoulder relishing in the honey scent of her dark skin.

"Ayessa," he whispered as tears sprang to his eyes and threatened to fall.

"Yes, sycha?" she asked running a hand down his furry back. (All Zeb had on was a pair of shorts.)

"Ayessa...I love you."

The Barrelian female felt her heartbeat quicken at those words she had hoped he would speak to her.

"I...love you too, Garazeb. I've loved you since the first time I looked into your green eyes and saw that noble soul of yours looking back at me."

"You did?"

"Yes, sycha. When you are well, I want to join minds with you so we can be bondmates. I love you very much."

"I want us to be together, Ayessa," he said his eyes still teary, "I love you."

"Now rest," she said as she lowered him back down onto the bed, "I'll be here to take care of you. Ne'Roos is happy to see you too. She was very sad when you were in the bacta tank."

"I...knew you were there...with me," Zeb said lifting a hand up to grasp hers.

"You felt my presense in your mind?" she asked caressing his cheek. Ne'Roos chose to put herself between them for a pat on her furry head. That made them both chuckle.

"Yes," Zeb answered, "You...uh...were wearing a gown of gold...the top open."

Ayessa blushed remembering how she had unfastened the gown and it had slipped exposing her breasts.

"You saw that?"

"Yeah...it was a pretty sight."

"When we are joined," Ayessa said as she bent down to brush her lips against his furry cheek, "I will show you more."

Zeb's eyes widened, looking forward to seeing Ayessa's brown skin with golden hue in all it's naked glory. He would in turn show her all of his lavender fur with it's purple striping from his head to the toes of his big feet.

"Ayessa," he said brushing his lips against her cheek feeling the warm skin, "Stay with me?"

"Yes, my sycha," she answered and their lips met in a very passionate kiss, Zeb feeling the arousal start, but he held back until they were properly joined. He knew Ayessa's people followed strict rules for adult females to follow. He remembered the same thing for adult Lasat males. After they parted, Ayessa fluffed the pillows for him and made sure his right leg was in a comfortable position. Zeb smiled as he saw Ayessa lay next to him, pressing herself close and put an arm around his shoulders. The feeling wasn't sensual, but comforting and he closed his eyes soon falling asleep. Ayessa kissed him on the lips and leaned her head against his to also fall asleep.

The next several days, Ayessa hardly left his side and much to Sarah's surprise, insisted on caring for the Lasat as if she were a nurse. Sarah noticed that Zeb was more relaxed with Ayessa's tender ministrations and only stepped in when the Lasat needed medications or his bandages changed. The Barrelian female took over feeding Zeb, giving him sponge baths and changing the bedding when needed due to his musky scented fur. At first, Zeb was uncomfortable at Ayessa seeing his nearly naked body, but he soon got used to it. It made him more anxious to see Ayessa's naked body after they would be joined. Sarah had the orderlies put in a cot for Ayessa to sleep on, but most of the time, the Barrelian female would lay next to Zeb on the large hospital bed. Ayessa also noticed that alot of times, Zeb would suffer from bad dreams and would wake up shaking and nearly in tears.

"What is wrong with him?" she asked of Dr. D'Negel and Sarah when she was outside in the waiting area as Zeb was down in radiology getting x-rays of his broken arm to see how it was healing. Hera, Kanan and Rex were sitting with her seeing how tired she was getting. The others were off on a supply run.

"Garazeb is suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, or as it is commonly called PTSD," the doctor said seeing the worried look on the Barrelian's face.

"I saw that alot with the clone troopers...during the Clone Wars," Rex said, "They would have bad dreams all the times...and some of them...were removed from service."

"You mean..." Hera said her face in a look of horror. She knew what he meant.

"Yes, Hera," Rex said his face in a frown, "The soldiers were deemed unstable and were terminated."

Kanan felt his stomach knot up at the thought of innocent men being killed because they were...damaged. He knew that Zeb would never have that happen to him as long as he was alive.

"What do we do?" Ayessa asked and saw Hera's eyes welling with tears.

"Just be there for him when he needs someone to comfort him," Dr. D'Negel said, "Garazeb has a hard battle ahead of him and the best thing for him is the love and support of his family. The physical wounds will heal, but the emotional ones will take longer. He endured a traumatic experience that could scar him for a long time. Sometimes, these emotional wounds never heal."

Hera and Kanan looked over at each other and with that gaze, they resigned themselves to becoming surrogate "parents" to the older Lasat if need be. They knew that Ezra and Sabine would be a big help in his recovery, but Ayessa would be the greatest help of all. She loved Zeb and that love would aid in his recovery more than any medications.

"I will take care of him, when he gets out of the medical facility," Ayessa said as she stood up, her tall frame making the others feel short, "We are to be joined as bondmates and since he is my sycha, I will take care of him."

"It could get ugly, Ayessa," Rex said hoping not to anger her, "I've seen first hand how bad an emotional breakdown can get. Are you ready for a Lasat to become hysterical and perhaps violent?"

"Yes," she answered looking back into the room where the Lasat would be brought back to, "I am Barrelian and can take anything. Garazeb needs me...needs my love and that's what he needs right now, nothing else!"

"Okay," Kanan added seeing how stubborn the tall beauty was. She was the perfect mate for a Lasat, "Know this, Ayessa, we are all here to help you. Just ask and we'll take over caring for Zeb if you need a break. It will be a long recovery for him."

Ayessa was satisfied with that...

A week later, Zeb was released from the medical facility and the GHOST crew hoped he'd return to the ship, but he wanted to stay with Ayessa. They didn't pressure him in any way seeing how fragile his emotional state was. Since his return, Zeb was quieter, hardly smiled and showed no interest in playing Sabacc with Rex and Kallus. Sabine and Ezra tried to get him involved in some sparring practice that he was able to do with one arm, but all he did was decline and sit watching them. Ayessa became his constant companion and even had the rebels move in an extra bed in her quarters so Zeb could stay with her. She gave the Lasat her spacious bed even though he insisted on her laying next to him. Nothing sexual happened between them, and Ayessa felt like she were caring for someone alot younger than her even though she and Zeb were close in age. The Lasat hated to be alone and would have panic attacks if Ayessa even left his sight. Dr. D'Negel had Ayessa give him sedatives to ease his fears and the Lasat was easier to take care of. No matter how much trouble Zeb gave her, Ayessa never complained and put up with his mood swings and constant nightmares. She tried to get him to tell her about what he had experienced during his two years away from her. Try as she might, he would never open up to her, and just changed the subject when she tried to ask him about it. One day he would have an emotional breakdown that would scare her.

On a warm day, she decided to take Zeb for a walk to the waterfall, knowing how much the Lasat loved the place and how he liked to hold her hand. Making sure he had on a warm coat with the rainy season coming on, they walked to the waterfall. Zeb didn't say a word and held on to her hand not unlike a child. He kept his head down and just watched the ground as they walked.

"Even cold, it's still pretty here, don't you think?" she asked seeing that he was getting a little tired, "Let's rest for a bit before we go back."

"Okay," was all he said and sat down on the grass that was surprisingly warm in the changing season.

She sat down and had him sit next to her so he could lay his head on her shoulder. Zeb lifted his head up to gaze out at the waterfall that was covered in a mist from the flowing water. A small smile crossed the Lasat features and for a moment he looked like the Garazeb she fell in love with. He leaned against her more and closed his eyes.

"Garazeb," she said as she put her arm around his shoulders bringing him closer to her coat-covered body, "You know you can talk to me about anything. If we are to be joined, we have to be honest with each other. Please tell me what you are feeling. I can't sense you anymore. You have closed yourself off to me, sycha, and that makes me sad."

"I don't want to talk about it," he muttered.

"Garazeb," she said putting a hand under his bearded chin to lift his face up so he had to look at her, "You need to talk about it. Keeping all this anger, fear and sadness inside is eating you up! I love you, and want to help you! Please, sycha, talk to me!"

Zeb swallowed hard seeing the hurt in her golden eyes and he felt awful for making her suffer. Taking a deep breath, he began to tell his lover about what happened to him on the jungle planet. Ayessa listened, feeling her heart break at his words and seeing the anger and sadness in his eyes. Zeb continued to tell her about being hunted like a wild animal and how he kept two steps ahead of the alien hunters even while injured. She couldn't imagine what he went through and listened as he told her about killing two of the younger hunters and how he tore the head off one of them. Hearing that made her almost sick to her stomach, but she realized he didn't have a choice in order to stay alive. As he continued to talk, she noticed that his stress level was elevating signaling he was close to a breakdown.

"The worst was when they killed...Ashla," he said his voice shaky and tears in his eyes, "I lost the only friend I had on that planet! They killed her! They...killed her!"

Zeb leaned against Ayessa more and she saw that a deep frown had formed on his face and his Lasat fangs were in a sneer showing that he was getting angry. Suddenly, he pulled away from her and began to beat on any rocks that were within reach of his left hand. Growling, he kept up until he ran out of breath and sat panting. Ayessa watched him never seeing that side of him before and it frightened her.

"Garazeb," she said as she reached over to place a hand on his shoulder. He growled, baring his teeth and curled up next to a big rock, "Garazeb, please...let me help you."

His anger left and he lifted up his head to see her staring at him with those golden eyes so full of love and kindness. Something broke inside the Lasat. He put his hands over his face and began to cry in gulping sobs, his thin body shaking. Ayessa put her arms around him pulling him closer as his crying intensified. She murmured comforting words knowing she could be in for hours of crying but didn't care; she loved him too much and would take care of him.

"Sycha," she whispered, "Listen to my voice. Listen to it's calming tone. That's it, keep listening."

She caressed his furry head and kissed him on his forehead hoping to calm the intense weeping. He sounded like a small child instead of an adult Lasat. She just rocked him in her arms continuing to utter words of comfort in her native tongue. He began to get the hiccups from the sobbing and Ayessa ran her hands down his back in circles of comfort hoping to ease the discomfort. She closed her eyes and reached out telepathically to the Lasat. Suddenly a golden light appeared around Ayessa and enveloped the weeping Lasat in it's soothing hues. Ayessa kept on with the murmurs of comfort and felt his crying begin to ease off. She caressed his head and then gave him a kiss on the forehead. That act made his tears slow up more. Ayessa held him closer feeling the shaking begin to ease off and she knew that her telepathic touch was soothing to him. After nearly a half hour, Zeb had calmed enough that he lay snuggled up to her and she could feel his breathing had slowed. She gave him another kiss on the forehead near the strange scar.

"You...you missed," he said his voice catching in a leftover sob.

"What was that?" she asked looking down at his tear-stained face.

"You missed."

"What do you mean, Garazeb?"

She realized what he meant when he reached up to give her a tender kiss on the lips. A smile appeared through his tears as he felt her give into the kiss.

"Garazeb," she whispered as she caressed his wet cheeks, "Kiss me again."

Zeb put his good arm around her pulling her closer and gave her a very passionate kiss feeling her relax in his embrace. Feeling her so close, brought on a state of arousal that he was finding hard to surpress. Ayessa was equally aroused and was pressing her body closer as she kissed him again...harder. The Barrelian female leaned over to position herself on his lap and looked down at his green eyes seeing the love in them. She embraced him tighter and felt his arousal growing in the lower region, but she didn't care. She loved him so much that she would forgo a mind joining to just be close to him. He began to kiss her neck making her moan softly and felt his good hand caressing her shoulders and down her back to her buttocks. Ayessa pulled away for a moment and then reached up to unfasten her coat and the tunic underneath to expose her full breasts that brought a smile to his face. He put his hand inside her coat and caressed the soft skin making her shiver and a little moan escaped her.

"Mate with me," he whispered in her ear as he kept caressing the breast feeling her shiver with desire.

"Garazeb," she whispered, her breath quickening, "We...shouldn't do this. We are not joined yet."

Even though her mind said to wait for an intimate encounter, her body was telling her yes and go for it.

"I don't care," he said and loosened his coat so she could touch his bare fur. He also loosened his pants to free the male part of him that was showing a high state of arousal and was ready for mating. Ayessa stared at that part of him and a smile crossed her face.

Ayessa pressed her body close and felt her brood pouch begin to pulsate with desire and loosened her pants to allow him a better entry of her brood pouch. Zeb pulled her closer and was about to enter her, when a stab of pain went through his broken arm and he groaned the arousal quickly leaving. Ayessa saw the color go out of his face and tears of pain appear. She did up her pants and coat and turned to help him do up his clothing. His eyes grew teary and he gritted his teeth showing how bad the pain was .

"Garazeb, we need to get you back to the medcenter. You are still in a great amount of pain."

"I'm sorry, Ayessa," he said his ears drooping, "I spoiled the romantic mood."

"Don't worry, my sycha," she answered helping him up and putting his arm back in the sling, "We'll have plenty of time for intimacy when we are joined. It is too soon for you anyway. Let's go home."

"Home," he said leaning his head over on her shoulder, "I like the sound of that."

With her arm around his waist, Ayessa helped Zeb back to the rebel base, her love for him growing even stronger...and her desire for him as well...


	15. Chapter 15 Zeb and Ayessa Orrelios

A/N: I don't know when I'll finish this story, but here is a chapter about Zeb and Ayessa getting joined (married) and their time away from the other rebels as they finally get to show each other the love and desire they feel. Zeb is in for a very good time! Will update when I get a chance. Was just diagnosed with breast cancer and I have a battle ahead of me fighting this. Warning for mature content. (love scenes)

Chapter 15 Zeb and Ayessa Orrelios

It finally came the time for Hondo and Melch to leave Yavin IV and continue on their pirate adventures through the galaxy. Actually, Hondo had to go because a former partner wanted his hide for a business deal that went bad through with no fault of his own.

He went over to say goodbye to Kanan, Hera, Ezra and Sabine, the two older rebels a little reserved in their goodbyes. Ezra and Sabine gave him hugs and Melch too. The little Ugnaught was nearly in tears when he hugged his friends.

Hondo walked over to Zeb and Ayessa and looked up at the taller beings.

"Purple Guy," he said as he gave Zeb a playful punch to the arm, "Take care of yourself and that beautiful lady of yours."

"Thank you, Hondo," Zeb said giving the pirate one of his spine-crushing hugs, "Thank you for all you did for me."

Hondo gasped and then pulled away to give the Lasat a punch to the shoulder.

Ayessa went over and bent down to give the Weequay a kiss on the cheek surprising Hondo, but he liked it.

"Thank you for bringing my sycha home to me," she said and bent down to lift Melch off his feet to give him a kiss. The Ugnaught squealed in surprise but enjoyed it.

"You are most welcome, my dear," Hondo said giving her a bow.

"My friends!" the old pirate said in a very theatrical fashion, "Farewell, until we meet again!"

The two pirates boarded their ship that Kanan and Hera loaded with needed supplies as they had promised and then took off with everyone waving goodbye.

"Hondo's not such a bad guy," Zeb said as he turned to Ayessa and gave her a kiss on the lips.

"Hey, you two," Rex said as he stood grinning with Kallus standing nearby, "None of that, now! You do know that there are others around!"

The Lasat and his Barrelian lover snickered and walked away to have some time for themselves. Hera and Kanan watched them leave.

"Those two need to be married...and soon," Hera said as Kanan took her by the hand.

"I know," the Jedi answered, "I can feel the building desire in both of them and it's getting stronger."

A week later, Zeb and Ayessa stood before one of the rebels who before he joined the Rebellion, was a Nabooian holy man and would be joining the couple. He had performed alot of marriages or joinings for others amongst the rebels including Kanan and Hera. The strangest one yet was between a human male and an insectoid female, so the joining of a Barrelian female and Lasat male seemed...normal. The ceremony was attended by all the rebels who were on Yavin IV at the time, among them, Senators Mothma and Organa.

Zeb and Ayessa enjoyed spending time with their friends and family, but wanted some privacy to consumate their love for each other. Before the wedding ceremony, Rex, Kallus, Ezra and Kanan traveled out to the waterfall area and set up a temporary shelter for the couple and everything they'd need for their first night alone. The rainy season was in full force on the moon and it made for a damp and chilly honeymoon for Zeb and Ayessa, but their family knew the weather would be the last thing on their minds.

Hera and Kanan stood watching Zeb with his new bride not unlike proud parents seeing their child finally married off and on his own. Ezra and Sabine smiled and for different reasons. Ezra was admiring Ayessa's skin-tight golden gown that seemed to be painted on her. The beaded collar was a glimmering gold and accented her slim neck and the plunging neckline that showed the sides of her full breasts. Sabine smiled seeing Zeb in a brand new Honor Guard uniform with chest and back armor that the two "siblings" had made with Ezra's help. Sabine had even painted a version of Ashla along the right side of his chest in memory of the Lasat's little animal friend that he loved so much. On his neck he wore his Honor Guard medallion that he received so long ago at his promotion to captain of the Lasan High Honor Guard.

After the ceremony, everyone enjoyed a meal of foods prepared by the base's chefs and other rebels who liked to dabble with cooking duties when they had a chance. Later in the day, it was time for Zeb and Ayessa to head to their honeymoon spot. It had begun to storm and the couple were given the use of a covered speeder to reach their destination and were glad for that, for the air was getting quite chilly. After saying goodbye for a few days, the couple took off for their time alone. Ayessa was looking forward to joining minds with her sycha and Zeb wanted to mate with her his desire for her growing with each minute that passed. He would be patient as Ayessa wanted to join her mind to his in the tradition of a Barrelian mating ceremony. Zeb felt a bit nervous at such an intimate touching of his barest emotions and hoped that being a non-telepath wouldn't hinder her too much. He knew that Ayessa wanted to mate with him as well as he caught her staring at his body in the way of a lover. During the ceremony, he had found himself constantly staring at her breasts that were nearly exposed in her wedding gown and was anxious to see them bare as well as the rest of her body.

They arrived at the waterfall and hurried to the shelter with the supplies that they had brought with them. When they unzipped the doorway, they were met by warmth from a portable heating unit and were able to remove their coats. Zeb smiled seeing Ayessa take her coat off to reveal her wedding gown with a sheer covering like a robe over it. He took his coat off showing Ayessa his chest and back armor, furry shoulders exposed. Seeing the two-tone purple fur made her smile for she was looking forward to running her fingers and hands over all of the Lasat's furry body, especially the lower region.

"Are you warm enough?" Zeb asked leading her over to where a makeshift bed was made for them.

"Yes, Garazeb," she said and looked into his green eyes seeing the love reflected there.

She sat down in front of him and unlaced the sheer robe over her gown and saw his eyes light up at the sight of her nearly exposed breasts.

"You are so beautiful," Zeb said , his deep voice in a near-whisper and he reached a hand up to caress her face that was now flushing with arousal. She in turn, reached up to caress his furry cheek and a low purr sounded deep in his throat.

"Sycha, you are very handsome," she answered and moved closer, "Garazeb...I want to join minds with you to finalize our bonding. It will not be painful in any way, and I think you will enjoy it."

"Okay," Zeb answered and smiled seeing her get ready for the mind joining.

"Now, Garazeb, close your eyes, take a deep breath and clear your mind of any distracting thoughts."

Easier said than done, Zeb thought as he thought of how he wanted to mate with Ayessa and feeling her body intertwined with his, but he did as she wanted.

Ayessa took a deep breath and started the joining. Seeing that Zeb was relaxed, she placed her hands along side his head with the gentlest of touches. Zeb let out a sigh and a small smile crossed the Lasat features as he felt his bondmate's intimate touch. In Ayessa's mind, she saw images of friendship, loyalty and a heart of gold that she had fallen in love with. She saw how protective he was towards his family and friends as well as the beings who were so helpless against the Empire. She shuddered feeling the guilt and grief that he still carried deep inside of the near genocide of his people. Moving further into his mind, she felt the strong feelings of a pure love for his adopted family; the crew of the GHOST and how long ago, they saved him from self destruction. She went further and saw images of what he had experienced on the jungle world being hunted by the aliens. That nearly broke her mind bond but she continued on probing further hoping to see something more pleasant. She shivered as she felt the strong emotions of love he felt for her and also the surging urges of sexual arousal. Her species weren't as physical in their mating rituals but seeing Zeb's raw feelings for her, made her feel things she never experienced before; an urge to engage in a physical mating ritual. Slowly she made her way out of his mind and opened her eyes to see that Zeb was sitting up straight, eyes still closed and his lips parted in a smile. His breathing had picked up in pace suggesting that he was becoming highly aroused and the sight of the growing bulge in the front part of his uniform bottoms showed her his heightened emotional state. She pulled her hands away from his cheeks and saw his eyes open, looking a bit unfocused.

"Ayessa," he stammered, "That...That...was...incredible!"

"A mind-joining for a non-telepath can be a bit disconcerting," she said as she caressed his flushed cheeks, "The feeling will soon go away."

"I'm...I'm all right," he answered, "Just a bit...woozy. I...really liked it."

"I'm glad, sycha, for with our mind-joining, we are now fully bonded."

Zeb smiled and placed his hands that were shaking a little against her face feeling her skin was becoming warmer.

"Ayessa," he said as he moved closer to her and stared into her golden eyes that reflected love for him alone, "This is how Lasats show affection."

He leaned forward and gave her a kiss on the mouth feeling her shiver a bit at the feel of his furry mouth on hers. She smiled liking the feel of the warm velvety fur. Ayessa moved closer and put her arms around him pressing her body close to deepen the kiss. Their mouths opened, tasting each other's breath. When they pulled away, Zeb smiled at her and placed his hands on her shoulders to loosen her beaded collar the material of the dress falling slowly to her waist, her full breasts of dark skin with golden markings showing. She in turn, began to remove his chest and back armor, lowering it to the blankets and then got to work on the top of his Honor Guard uniform lowering it to his waist seeing his muscular chest of purple fur. She sighed and ran a hand over the fur feeling him shiver. Zeb took both of his hands and ran them from her shoulders to her breasts that he cupped in his hands to caress them. Ayessa let out a soft moan of pleasure and stepped it up feeling him begin to kiss her neck while still caressing her breasts, her golden nipples reacting to his touch. His kisses moved downward to the area between the breasts and then to the breasts themselves, making her moan louder. As he touched her, she began to loosen the belt around his waist and pushed it to the blanket where she pulled downward on the uniform bottoms seeing his arousal growing. Soon his male parts were freed from the bottoms and she smiled seeing that part of him. She reached down to touch that which made him male and he began to purr in a high state of arousal.

"A...Ayessa," he whispered his breathing getting quicker, "I want to mate with you."

"Sycha," she moaned her body shivering in anticipation of what was about to happen, "I want to feel you...inside me."

"Oh...Karabast!" he moaned wanting to get closer to her.

She lowered her dress the rest of the way and her brood pouch was pulsating with arousal and glowing with a golden hue that was spreading to the upper half of her body. Zeb kept up with his kisses to her and then felt Ayessa press her body up to his showing she was ready to mate. He lifted his head from her breasts and saw her golden eyes shining with a high state of arousal and she pressed her brood pouch close to await his entrance. With a low purr of desire, Zeb thrust himself into Ayessa's brood pouch feeling her respond to the feelings of arousal and she pressed even closer, her fingers literally digging into the fur of his shoulders as they mated. A golden glow suddenly appeared from Ayessa's body and spread to envelop Zeb in it's brilliance. The two beings moved as one and the moans escaping from both of them, echoed through the shelter. This went on for close to a half hour when they finally reached their peak and fell away panting heavily. Ayessa layed her head against his sweaty chest taking in his musky scent that was like a love potion to her. Zeb put an arm around her his breathing in a state of post-sex panting. He breathed in her honey-scented sweat and gave her a kiss on her lips hoping for another round of mating. Lasat males had a lot of stamina and he hoped that Ayessa had just as much. Was he in for a surprise! The couple mated off and on for hours and finally exhaustion set in and they fell asleep in each other's arms, the post-mating sweat drying on their bodies.

In the morning, Zeb woke up to see Ayessa fixing them a breakfast of Ruusian eggs and Nerf bacon. His stomach growled and he smiled seeing that Ayessa had on a robe that barely covered her. He sat up and realized that he was still naked and reached over to his clothes pack and grabbed a pair of shorts to put on. Ayessa heard him and turned to smile seeing her bondmate awake and dressed in a very small pair of shorts that showed off his muscular physique.

"Good morning, Garazeb," she said and saw him stand up to go over and kneel behind her. She felt his big furry arms wrap around her and she sighed.

"Good morning, lover," he whispered and moved his hands to the inside of her robe to caress her breasts.

"If you want any breakfast, I can't finish it with you touching me in that way," she said a smile on her face. She turned her head around to give him a quick kiss on the lips.

"I'm not hungry for food," he whispered stepping up the caresses getting her aroused.

Shutting off the portable stove, Ayessa turned around and pulled Zeb close to her, the robe falling away. Soon the couple were mating again...and again...all through the morning. Finally they reached a point where they were hungry for food instead of sex and sat enjoying a meal of the eggs and bacon.

Luckily the rain had let up and after getting dressed in warmer clothes, they went for a walk on the otherside of the waterfall where they sat on a rock watching the water cascade over the rocks creating a mist that was chilly to the feel. That didn't bother them for they just enjoyed being in each other's arms and Ayessa even undid her coat so her Lasat lover could have a go at her breasts again. Being Barrelian, Ayessa never realized how exciting physical touch to her body could feel and that Zeb was the one touching her. The first time they had mated the night before, made her feel not only loved, but totally female...a Barrelian female that could not only join in mind, but in body. She couldn't get enough of her Lasat bondmate's furry body and the feel of him inside her brood pouch.

After four days at their honeymoon spot, Ayessa lay cuddled up to Zeb watching the Lasat sleep, his naked furry body drying from post-mating sweat. He had an arm around her body, a hand on her left breast. She put her hand over his bigger one and massaged the furry fingers, the velvety fur warm to the touch.

"I love you so much," she whispered pressing her naked body closer. He sighed in his sleep and she snuggled closer and looked down to her brood pouch that was glowing faintly from mating. She reached down to separate the folds of the opening and saw a gentle glow in the back of the pouch. A smile crossed her face and tears appeared in her golden eyes.

"Garazeb," she whispered lifting his hand up to kiss, "I now carry your seed inside my brood pouch. Sycha...I will bear you a son or daughter..."

Closing her eyes to fall asleep and dream of having Zeb's child, she prepared for the anticipation of the birth and couldn't wait to tell him the next morning.

"I'm gonna be a...father?" Zeb asked the next morning after they loaded up the speeder for the trip back to the base, "That was fast!"

"Well...," Ayessa answered batting her long-lashed eyes at him, "We mated alot of times and Barrelian females can become pregnant the first time around."

"Wow..." was all Zeb could say as he felt tears in his eyes, "I'm gonna be a father! Ayessa, will you be all right? After all...the baby will be half Lasat and half Barrelian."

"Don't worry your furry head, sycha," she answered, "My grandmother who was Twi'lek, had a healthy mixed-species baby. I will be fine. Let's go home and tell the rest of the family."

Zeb couldn't say another word. He just hugged Ayessa close and kissed her on the lips. He couldn't wait to tell Hera, Kanan, Ezra, Sabine, Rex and Kallus the happy news...


	16. Chapter 16 Unwelcome Visit

A/N: Hey, I'm still alive! Sorry for the long wait in between updates. It has been a rough time for me the past six weeks. Was diagnosed with breast cancer October 8 and will begin chemo treatments this coming Monday after finishing the scans and tests. I hope to update when I can; depending on how I feel while having chemo treatments. In this chapter, the rebels on Yavin IV are getting a visit from the Predators and they are in for some big trouble! Also, Ayessa and Eleandra are pregnant with Zeb's and Leka's children.

Chapter 16 An Unwelcome Visit

On the farside of Yavin IV, an alien spacecraft landed in an open area near the thickest part of the jungle. The rebels had recently explored this area and deemed it not important for their use, thus leaving it be. A ramp lowered from an opening at the bottom of the ship that was bigger than the GHOST. Six beings, very tall and large, descended, armed with weapons of an alien design but lethal in their intent. They were dressed in armor that didn't cover much of their bodies and had on helmets covering their faces but exposed the backs of their heads which were covered with dreadlock-like hair. The largest one let out a growl to three of the smaller ones and they brought down an anitgrav sled with what looked like two eggs on it. All six of them let out trills of excitement at the sight of what the eggs held.

Inside the leathery eggs were creatures that resembled large crabs but covered with spines.

The hunters, who were the same species as the ones that had captured Zeb several years ago, moved the sled forward and lifted the eggs off to place them in areas near the trees. The obvious leader, gestured to the five younger ones to go back aboard the ship to wait for the eggs to hatch. The leader placed a hand on each of the eggs in an almost gentle way and walked back into the ship...

At the rebel base:

"Ele, are you sure?" Leka Pauen asked as his bondmate came out from the medical bay.

"Yes, Leka...I'm pregnant," Ele said giving her Lasat bondmate a hug around the waist.

"Will you be...all right?" the young Lasat asked feeling a lump form in his throat, "After all, the baby will be part Lasat and part Dathomirian."

"Everything is fine, Leka, don't worry. Do you want to know the sex of the baby? Well, I'll tell you anyway. We're having a little girl and she is beautiful! She will arrive in about ten months."

Zeb and Ayessa had gone to the medical bay with the young couple seeing how worried they appeared. The older Lasat gave his younger friend a punch to the shoulder. He and Ayessa were also waiting on their own "bundle of joy".

"Way to go, kid!" he said a grin on his face. Zeb looked over at Ayessa and saw her place a hand over her swollen brood pouch that was covered by her long dress. The Barrelian female would be removing the fetus from the pouch in a few hours so the infant could continue gestating in an incubator like a Barrelian infant would do. Even though the male infant was half Lasat, he would undergo the same birth as a full Barrelian child.

"Sycha," Ayessa said as she moved closer to Zeb so she could lay her head on his shoulder, "Our child will be born in six more months. Today, the doctors will remove him from my brood pouch and place him in the incubator. Oh, don't worry so, he is strong like his father."

"And stubborn like his mother," Zeb answered as he kissed her on the cheek.

Later that day, Zeb sat in the waiting area of the medical bay while Ayessa was having the nearly formed hybrid moved to an incubator. The Lasat was clearly nervous and the others saw.

"Captain Orrelios," Leka said as he walked over to give his older friend an affectionate pat on the shoulder, "Ayessa will be fine."

"I hope so," Zeb said trying to calm his nerves.

"Hey, I'm surviving Ele's pregnancy and that's been bad enough!" the young Lasat said looking over at his very pregnant bondmate.

"Hey!" Ele called out in mock anger, "I'm not that bad!"

Leka went to embrace her and ran his hand over her swollen belly. He could feel the movements of the hybrid baby against his furry hand.

"Wow! Kid has a kick harder than a Lasat kit."

"Well..." Ele said a big smile on her face, "She has her mother's genes. My mother told me I kicked her alot while she was pregnant with me."

Dr. D'Negel came out from the nursery area with a smile on his face.

"Captain Orrelios," he said seeing the nervous Lasat, "Ayessa is doing fine and so is the baby. Would you like to see him? The cocoon he's in, is transparent and you will be able to see his body."

"Is the baby in an incubator?" Zeb asked a bit confused.

"Yes. The cocoon holding the infant is inside the incubator under ideal conditions for a Barrelian infant and also a Lasat infant. Let's go see your son."

Hera, Kanan and Kallus followed Zeb to the nursery. The others were away on a mission and would be back in several days. Zeb held onto Hera's hand not unlike a child. She didn't mind seeing how nervous he was. The base's doctor lead the rebel family into the area of the medical bay and the sounds of cooing infants sounded making Hera smile. She lead Zeb into the nursery and a big smile crossed the Lasat's face. They were shown to the area for the newborns and two bassinets held a human baby and an Ithorian baby. The three rebels followed the nurse to the area near the birthing part and an incubator hummed with a soothing tone and Zeb saw the first glance of his infant son in his Barrelian cocoon.

The tiny hybrid infant was floating in the cocoon fluids as if on air. Zeb smiled seeing that his son had tiny pointed Lasat ears and the fur coat of a lavender color but with one striking difference. The stripes were a bright golden sheen and to Zeb's amazement, the baby had five fingers and five little toes that were shaped like a Lasat kit's. His face was a mixture of Barrelian and Lasat. His face was shaped like a Lasat's with the nose similar to Ayessa's. His little furry cheeks were striped with gold and his large eyes were open to a slit showing they were green with a ring of gold around the large black pupils. The infant yawned showing his toothless mouth that was shaped like a Lasat kit's. Zeb couldn't hold back the tears and felt Hera come up to give him a much needed hug.

"Garazeb," came Ayessa's voice from the maternity area, "My sycha, did you see our baby?"

Zeb pulled himself away from Hera's embrace and walked in to see his bondmate laying on a bed looking a a little tired, but otherwise well. He went over to sit on the side of the bed where she sat up to throw herself into his arms. The couple held each other for a few minutes until Sarah cleared her throat signaling that Ayessa needed rest.

"Don't worry, kiddo," the nurse said as she layed a hand on the Lasat's arm, "Ayessa is fine, just a bit tired."

That satisfied Zeb and he waited to take his bondmate home...

Several days later, the Predators began a hunt for the strange alien creatures that they had brought to Yavin IV to hunt. The leathery eggs had hatched and the creatures inside had already claimed their first victims. The hatchlings looked like a cross between a kyrkna spider and a sea crab with a long tail. The things latched themselves onto their first victims who were feline-like creatures of the jungles. The hatchlings forced the animal's mouths open and the tail wrapped around their throat as a tube went down their throat and into their lungs.

Less than a week later, the feline animals...died as something burst through their midsections killing them. The blood soaked young ran off into the jungle on four legs trailing blood and internal organs.

Leka and Ezra were exploring a section of the jungle when they sensed the presence of an alien being the likes they had never encountered before. They were tall, covered in fur, and had heads that were elongated with a mouthful of sharp teeth.

"Leka," Ezra whispered as he put a hand on the young Lasat's arm, "Did you just sense through the Force something..."

"Weird?" Leka answered and a frown crossed his face, "Yeah, and it's coming from near those ruins..."

Leka no sooner got his words out when two large creatures leaped out from amongst the bushes.

"KARABAST!" Leka cried out and grabbed the blaster he had attached next to his lightsaber.

"You can say that again!" Ezra cried out just as startled. He also went for his blaster, "Leka, what are those things?!"

The young Lasat just shrugged his shoulders and shot over one of the creatures elongated heads. It let out a hiss that sent shivers up both Jedi's backs. The creatures stood staring at the shorter human and Lasat cocking their heads in curiousity. Leka and Ezra slowly backed up and then holstered their blasters to activate their lightsabers; Ezra's green and Leka's a bright lavender purple. The creatures took that as a threat and charged.

Ezra leaped over their heads and took on a battle stance, while Leka stood snarling his Lasat incisors showing. The young Lasat let out a cry and leaped up and over the creatures where he slashed down with the purple blade severing the head of the nearest one. The surviving one let out a hiss and reached up to grab Leka by the arm and bit down on the purple fur, Leka letting out a cry of pain. Ezra retaliated with a slash of his green blade and quickly killed the second one. Leka fell away, his left arm bleeding badly. Ezra grabbed his com and contacted Kanan and Hera.

The two older rebels came later in a speeder and were shocked to see the strange now dead creatures. Zeb and Sabine had come along and both looked like they were going to faint seeing the dead creatures.

"What are those things?!" Sabine asked as she ran over to see how Ezra and Leka were. Hera had beat her to them and was fussing over them like the maternal person she was.

"Karabast," Zeb said as he bent down to touch one of the dead creatures on the head, "These things are uglier than those hunters that tracked me down two years ago."

"Let's get these kids back to base," was all Kanan said as he seemed to look off into the distance. He could sense a great disturbance in the Force and it wasn't from a Jedi or a Sith.

Back at the rebel base, Ele was crying when she saw Leka injured. Sarah took him into the medical bay and the young Lasat was taken care of.

"Oh, don't worry, child," she said to Ele, "Leka will be fine. He'll have a sore arm for awhile and a new scar, but he'll be fine. The doctor is stitching up his arm now and covering it with a bacta bandage. Let me take you to him..."

"Kanan," Ezra said as he felt Hera apply a bacta bandage to a scrape on the side of his face, "I've never seen anything like those creatures before. They were so...vicious! It was all Leka and I could do to...kill them."

Kanan layed a hand on his Padawan's shoulder and looked to be in deep thought.

"We need to send out a patrol to search for more of these things," he said a frown crossing his face, "I'll lead the first one."

"Count me in too," Zeb said as he stood up taller, his Lasat features in a look of determination, "After all, I'm the chief of security around this base."

"Zeb, we'll help too," Rex said and nodded to Kallus who was standing nearby.

Zeb's face shown with one of this endearing grins that they all loved.

Four hours later, after conversing with Rebel Command, Kanan, Zeb, Rex, Kallus, and several commandos that Rex had trained for ground combat, readied to leave.

"Kanan, be careful," Hera said as she adjusted his belt that held not only his lightsaber, but a large blaster and several extra rounds.

"I will, and don't worry, Hera, I'll take care of them," Kanan said as he kissed his wife on the lips.

Rex and Kallus were arming themselves with some of Sabine's little explosive surprises and blasters with extra ammo. Kallus even shouldered his bo-rifle that he hadn't used for quite some time. They looked over at Zeb seeing the Lasat putting on the hunter armor and adjusting the shoulder cannon. The Lasat looked almost like a member of the Honor Guard plus some. He attached his beloved bo-rifle on his back and took a deep breath.

"Leka!" Ele called out seeing her bondmate readying to go help. The young Lasat Jedi was attaching some shoulder armor on, and with the help of Kallus, was putting a large rocket launcher over his back on a harness attached to his shoulders.

Zeb frowned seeing his younger friend. He shook his head.

"Kid, you're not going! You've got an injured arm, remember?"

"Captain Orrelios," Leka said in a very grown-up tone, "I am twenty dust seasons old and capable of taking care of myself! Karabast! I'm a Jedi too and with Kanan's help, maybe we can get these guys! I want to get them for what they did to my arm!"

Kanan and Hera smiled at the young Lasat and knew he wouldn't back down. He was as stubborn as Zeb!

"All right, Leka," Kanan said in a fatherly tone of voice, "You can come along, but only if you listen to me or Zeb, agree?"

"Agreed," Leka said his ears drooping a bit.

Ele hugged Leka tight and nearly kissed him too death!

"Behave yourself," she said her voice catching in a sob, "You're going to be a father soon, and don't forget that!"

Leka kissed her again feeling his own eyes tear up and a lump in his throat.

"Sycha," Ayessa said as she pulled Zeb to her for a loving embrace, "Be careful. I just got you back and don't want to lose you again."

"I'll be careful," he said and pulled her closer for a tender kiss that lasted for awhile. Kanan clearing his throat broke them apart.

"Let's go," the blind Jedi said and smiled at Hera. Then he turned to Ezra and Sabine who were staying behind to help guard the base, "You two com us at the first sign of trouble."

Both young rebels nodded and gave each of them hugs.

"Goodbye...May the Force be with you," Ezra said as he swallowed the lump in his throat. He and Sabine watched their family leave and hoped...and prayed that they would return to them...


	17. Chapter 17 Alien Search

A/N: Again, I apologize for the lack of updates. For the past five months, I've been undergoing chemo treatments for breast cancer and it has been rough! I finished my last chemo treatment March 2nd and I'll have surgery sometime in April, then radiation treatments. Been enjoying reading the different fan fiction stories others have written and that has kept my spirits up. In this chapter, the rebels will search or the elusive alien creatures and the Predators hunting them. I'm pleased that so many of you have been reading the story and I hope to update when I can.

Chapter 17 Alien Search

Kanan Jarrus sat on the ground meditating, his brow furrowed in deep concentration. The past few days, he along with other members of the GHOST crew, were searching for some creatures that Ezra and Leka happened upon. Kanan was relieved to have some time to clear his mind of distractions and hoped Leka would join him in meditation. Leka...well...the young Lasat Jedi was as jumpy as a Loth-cat on steroids. Kanan wished at that moment that Ezra were there with him. He could use the young Jedi's help with Leka. Ezra along with Sabine, had stayed behind at the rebel base in case there would be any trouble from the alien hunters or worse.

Kanan turned to Leka and smiled, seeing the Lasat biting on his lower lip, not unlike that of Zeb.

"Leka," Kanan said as he put a hand on the taller student's arm, "Come sit and meditate. You need to clear your mind."

"I'm...sorry...Master," Leka answered his green eyes reflecting fear.

"I know you're worried about Ele, but she's safe back at the base. Ezra and Sabine will take care of her and so will the other rebels. Reach out through the Force and feel her presense. She is thinking about you and how much she loves you."

Leka felt his eyes burn with tears that he quickly blinked away before they could fall. Kanan put a fatherly arm around the young Lasat's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Relax and close your eyes. Clear your mind. Reach out and feel Ele's presense and let that calm you."

The young Lasat Padawan sat down legs crossed and his hands resting on his knees. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself. He reached out with the Force and touched the mind of his beloved bondmate. A gentle smile crossed his furry face and Kanan knew that his newest student had reached a state of calm.

Kanan closed his eyes and reached out to touch Ezra feeling the young man's calm demeanor that had a bit of impatience thrown in. That was Ezra's biggest obstacle, his impatience...and fear for his family. He reached out and touched Ezra feeling the younger Jedi's mind calm making him feel better. He wasn't worried about Ezra as much as he was about Sabine. The young Mandalorian could be trouble when she let her emotions get in the way, not unlike that of a certain former Lasan Honor Guard who was like her big brother. He opened his eyes and glanced over at Zeb helping Rex and Kallus load some grenades into a launcher that Sabine had just built recently. A smile crossed his face as he felt through the Force the brotherly bond between the three males. He closed his eyes and reached out to feel Hera's calming presence and to his surprise, he felt the stirrings of a new life inside her. He was going to be a father! That made him want to return to her alive more than ever.

The rebels made camp in a part of the jungle that offered shelter from the rains that were coming and hoped the alien creatures wouldn't attack while they rested. Kanan took first watch followed by Zeb, Kallus then Rex. The rest of them sat not talking each in their own thoughts of the upcoming battle that could be the end of them and the rebel base.

"Captain Orrelios?" Leka asked as he sat down next to his older fellow Lasat.

"What's on your mind, kid?" Zeb asked as he chewed on a piece of jerky that Rex had made several days ago.

"If something happens to me...will you be sure that Ele and the baby are taken care of?"

"Hey, what kind of talk is that?" Zeb asked seeing the fear in the younger Lasat's eyes, "You're going to make it. You're a Lasat and being a Lasat, the word quit isn't in your vocabulary. Now, don't let me hear you talking about quitting, okay?"

"Uh...Okay," came Leka's response as he looked away before Zeb saw his teary eyes.

"I promise you, I'll take care of all of you," Zeb answered putting an arm around his younger friend who was starting to feel more like a son to him, "After all, I'm old enough to be your father and Ele's as well."

"You got that right!" came a sarcastic response from Rex.

"Shut up you old geezer!" Zeb said giving the old clone a playful punch to the shoulder, "You're old enough to be Leka's grandfather!"

Kallus sat doubled over with laughter at his friends playful banter. His laughter got Leka smiling then laughing which made Zeb feel better.

The next morning the group of rebels continued with their search for the elusive aliens...

Back at the base, Ayessa sat in the quarters that she now shared with her bondmate and prayed for the safe return of Zeb. The past few months she couldn't get enough of spending time with her beloved Lasat bondmate and he with her. The two of them seemed to be connected at the hip! When she thought she had lost him to the alien hunters, she thought her heart would break into a million pieces! Now she had him back and they were expecting their first child together and she could be losing him all over again.

"Garazeb, please...take care of yourself. I couldn't bear the thought of losing you! I want you to see our son when he is born. Please...sycha...come home..."

She closed her golden eyes and telepathically reached out to Zeb and felt his strong presence laced with a bit of uncertainty...

Zeb shivered as he felt Ayessa's telepathic touch. Rex saw his discomfort.

"You okay, big guy?" he asked laying a hand on the Lasat's arm.

"Yeah," Zeb answered, "I felt Ayessa reach out to me with her mind. It feels a bit strange and a little...erotic."

"Erotic?" Rex asked, "Sounds kinky, Zeb. Care to let Kallus and I in on what she told you?"

"Karabast!" Zeb cried out giving his two friends a scathing look, "It was...private."

"Oh, one of those conversations," Kallus answered as he winked at Rex.

"Hey you three!" Kanan called to his three friends who had fallen behind, "Keep up!"

"Sir! Yes, Sir!" Zeb, Rex and Kallus called out smiles on their faces. Kanan just shook his head.

Back at the rebel base, Ele and Ayessa worried about their Lasat bondmates. Ezra sensed their unease and he along with Sabine, tried to keep their spirits up. It didn't help that everyone was nervous about the idea of vicious alien creatures running around out in the jungles ready to attack. The base was put on a high alert and everyone was armed with weapons even Ayessa and Ele.

Later that day, Ayessa was contacted by Zeb and she began to cry hearing his deep voice. Leka also talked to Ele and she burst into tears at the sound of her bondmate's voice. Kanan, Kallus, and Rex talked to everyone else making them less worried.

"Ayessa Orrelios!" the base's com system announced, "You are needed in the medical area!"

"The baby...," the Barrelian woman whispered thinking something was wrong.

She ran to the medical facility with Ezra and Sabine following her which was hard due to her height. In tears, Ayessa stood shivering as she gazed into the incubator seeing that the infant was thrashing around. He seemed to be having trouble breathing.

"Get him out!" she cried half hysterical.

"Easy...Easy," one of the medics said as he lifted the top off of the incubator and opened the cocoon. The baby was lifted out and cleaned of the cocoon fluids and then wrapped in a warm towel. Ayessa was still crying and held out her arms for her baby.

"Let us check him out and then you can hold him," the medic said taking the baby Lasat/Barrelian over for a medical checkup. The tiny infant showed he had a good set of lungs in the crying that he was doing. The sound was similar to a human infant's. A smile crossed the medic's face as he got the results of the medical scan. He brought over the now clean baby and handed him to Ayessa who was making cooing sounds like a female Barrelian would do to her baby.

"He's so tiny," Sabine said as she looked down at the newborn. Ezra stood by grinning like an idiot. Ele who was getting a checkup heard the commotion and came into the nursery. A big smile crossed her face when she saw Ayessa holding her newborn son. Tears burned her eyes as she hoped that Leka would return to see their daughter born.

Ayessa nuzzled her face to the baby's furry one and with her telepathic abilities reached out to tell Zeb that their child had been born...

As the rebel team ventured through the jungle, Zeb caught Ayessa's telepathic touch and a big toothy grin crossed his face. Rex saw it.

"Hey, what's got you grinning so big about?" the old clone asked.

"My...son was just born," the Lasat said his voice quivering with emotion, "I should be there with Ayessa...not here!"

Kanan sensed his close friend's frustration and layed a hand on Zeb's shoulder. The Lasat smiled feeling the hand on his shoulder and looked down at the shorter Jedi seeing in the teal-colored eyes the warmth and friendship.

"Hey, Zeb!" Rex said as he gave the Lasat a slap to his shoulder, "Congratulations! When we get back, Kallus and I are buying you all the drinks you want!"

"We are?" Kallus added, "Whose going to pay for them?"

Leka and Kanan looked over at each other and shook their heads. Leka went over and patted Zeb on the back, the older Lasat's smile getting bigger.

"C'mon guys," Kanan said trying to get their minds back on the mission at hand, "We have some aliens to hunt down."

For the next couple of days, the small band of rebels searched for the alien creatures but none showed up. Kanan decided that it would be fine to return to the rebel base and fill in the leaders about not finding any sign of the aliens. They returned to the base and were welcomed back by their spouses or family. Zeb couldn't wait to see his newborn son. Ayessa nearly kissed Zeb's face away in her loving greeting to him. Ele was just as bad to Leka! The Dathomirian woman had gotten bigger in her pregnancy and more uncomfortable. Zeb and Ayessa took over watching the younger female since she was becoming moody and much to their surprise she had a ring of purple fur growing around her neck.

"I look so ugly!" Ele said to Ayessa as the Barrelian female soothed her through another crying spell.

"Nonsense!" Ayessa answered, "You are pregnant and things have changed in your body. Ele, you look beautiful and Leka thinks so too."

"This fur on my neck!"

"Oh...child," Ayessa said as she hugged her close, "It will disappear once you give birth. Garazeb told me that Lasat females get thick fur rings around their necks when expecting. Remember I had one around my neck for awhile and it's disappearing. It is a sign of the miracle of life."

Ele hugged the taller woman tighter feeling more affection for her. Ayessa was like the mother she had lost so long ago when she left Dathomir.

Leka also was at a loss at Ele's mood swings. Zeb took him aside and reassured him that everything was going fine with Ele even with her Lasat-like fur ring around her neck.

"Kid," the older Lasat said as he put an arm around the younger one's shoulders, "Ele will be fine. All females are a bit...grouchy when they're pregnant. Be patient with her and show her how much you care about her. Both of you will get through this and remember Ayessa and I are here for you."

Zeb's answer came in a spine crushing hug from the young Lasat.

"Easy, kid, only have one spine!"

Several more months passed and regular patrols were sent out to check on any sightings of the strange aliens. There were signs of them being on Yavin IV, but it was from a great distance not near the base. Still, everyone was on alert. Zeb was the most nervous at the alien beings coming close to the base and his immediate family.

The day came for Ele's delivery and she was showing that something was wrong. The Dathomirian woman was rushed to the medical facility and a group of medics experienced at childbirth, would oversee the birth.

"Ele, relax and take deep breaths," one of the medics said. He was a male Duros and well-experienced at childbirth.

"Oh...Karabast!" she cried out as a labor pain hit.

At her request, Hera and Ayessa were there in the delivery room with her. Both women held her hands and murmured comforting words to her. For several hours Ele cried out, cursed in both Dathomirian and Lasani, burst into tears, and nearly crushed Hera's and Ayessa's hands.

Towards nightfall, Ele gave birth to a perfectly healthy Lasat/Dathomirian girl. The young mother reached for her child even before the umbilical cord was cut. She began to cry seeing the newborn with grayish fur and tiny pointed ears. The baby was cleaned off and handed to Ele and then Leka was brought in to see his newborn daughter. Much to everyone's surprise, the young Lasat began to cry. Zeb lead Kanan, Sabine, Ezra, Kallus and Rex in to see the baby. Much to Ezra's amusement, Zeb had tears in his eyes.

"What should we name her?" Ele asked as she held the newborn to her breast for her first feeding.

"I...I don't know," Leka answered as he ran a clawed finger over the baby's head of gray/purple fur.

"Let's name her...Burley...after my adopted father. I know it's more of a masculine name but it fits her. She will be a living testimony to Father."

"Sounds good to me. Hey little Burley, I'm your daddy," Leka said a big smile crossing his face.

The new parents were left to have time with their baby and the others went out to relax in the dining hall. Ayessa had picked up little Garazeb Junior from two rebels who loved to take care of the little ones. They were a human couple of advanced years. Ayessa had insisted on naming her and Zeb's baby after him and he was honored. Everyone called the baby Gari so not to mix him up with his father. Life seemed to be calm for awhile and everyone felt they could relax for awhile. Little did they realize that not far from the rebel base, several of the strange alien creatures were observing the rebels with a keen interest that bordered on hunger... 


End file.
